There were innumerable positives for Manchester United on Wednesday night and their victory means there is something to play for at Brighton on Sunday.

United can qualify for the Europa Conference League if they beat Brighton and Newcastle fail to win away to Brentford, unbeaten at home since February 17.

Brighton have won their past four Premier League games against United, who have never won at the Amex Stadium with a crowd present. Brighton have won four of their six home games against United since they were promoted in 2017.

Few would have thought Brighton's season would peak with their dismantling of United back in September. They did a number on United that day but Brighton's own numbers are unflattering: 12 league wins all season, 13 defeats and 60 goals conceded. Brighton could mathematically end as low as 13th on Sunday evening.

Brighton have won four of their 15 games against the top eight and Sunday could mark Roberto de Zerbi's swansong. Brighton are not the sure thing they were eight months ago.

Erik ten Hag seldom selects weakened teams and there are bound to be minimal changes this weekend. Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford need starts, Alejandro Garnacho requires a breather and Casemiro, starter in the past nine matches, could be preserved ahead of his last dance in elite football in the FA Cup final.

Whether it was rest, rotation or a demotion, it did the job with matchwinner Rasmus Hojlund against Newcastle and a recall is in order. Beyond those three, any other tactical or rotational alterations are unforeseeable. Raphael Varane or Victor Lindelof could possibly get second-half minutes under their belt as Ten Hag mulls over Martinez's partner against Manchester City next week.

United only had third place to secure on the final day last season against Fulham and that persuaded Ten Hag to manage minutes. Seven of the starters lined up at Wembley six days later.

Only Lindelof survived from the back four against City, who scored after 13 seconds. That has to be dismissed as a freak, rather than a miscalculation by Ten Hag. Lindelof, on his 12th consecutive start, was the defender who hesitated in the second-ball duel with Erling Haaland before it dropped to Ilkay Gundogan.

In Hove, up to eight first-teamers could emerge from the tunnel and stride onto the pitch. It will likely be one or two fewer, but whatever the starting XI, it will be a far cry from some of Sir Alex Ferguson's end-of-season XIs.

The bench was more obscure: Amos, Corry Evans, Eckersley, Tosic, James, Possebon and Drinkwater. United had a Champions League final in Rome three days later.

"My players wouldn't forgive me if I played the strongest team," Ferguson said ahead of the match. "They would say, 'what?'. It would be the best thing that could happen to Hull really."

Hull were struggling to stay out of the relegation quicksands. They were a point better off than Newcastle and had won one league game that calendar year, courtesy of the United loanee Manucho.

United had the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley to prepare for in 2007 and six of the starters kept their place. The Hull XI was a misjudgement. Come the Champions League final, the most recent a United starter had played was 11 days earlier in the title-clinching draw with Arsenal.

Ferguson had opted for some kidology over Rio Ferdinand's availability, suggesting he would have to play at Hull to have a chance of starting against Barcelona. Ferdinand was absent on Humberside but was on the pitch to observe the Champions League anthem. It was Ferdinand's first game in three weeks and he was chasing shadows for Samuel Eto'o's opening goal in the tenth minute.

For the rematch at Wembley in 2011, Ferguson highlighted the importance of Gary Neville's midweek testimonial against Juventus as a run-out for probable starters. Champions League finals switched to a Saturday slot in 2010, affording teams greater recovery time after their last league fixture.

"It is also about killing the time. It can be a long week in the build-up to a European final. We found that going to Rome."

Guest academy alumni David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville were supplemented by Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs, starters against Barcelona. United had also just seen off relegated Blackpool on the final day with an XI that featured six players who were involved against Barcelona.

Thirteen years on, another Pep Guardiola team is the United manager's white whale.