Joshua Zirkzee must start Manchester United’s next three games after making Brighton “panic”

Rúben Amorim must look to start Joshua Zirkzee across Manchester United’s fixtures following good Premier League performances so far in 2025.

Manchester United are gearing up to return to Europa League action as they welcome Rangers to Old Trafford on Thursday evening.

The start of 2025 has seen the club battle to good results against Liverpool and Arsenal, but a 3-1 loss against Brighton and poor performance against Southampton despite Amad’s hat-trick has soured the mood in the last week.

However, the tie against Rangers offers Rúben Amorim and his men the chance to mend their relationship with a few disgruntled fans at Old Trafford, with the side firm favourites.

United currently sit seventh in the Europa League table, which is within the automatic qualification spots for the knockout round. A good result against Rangers would go far in cementing their place within the top eight positions.

Amorim must look to start Zirkzee for the next few games

United are struggling for goals at points so far, with Amad sitting as the side’s top scorer with just nine this campaign and Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho not far behind on eight each.

United have Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Højlund as their current striker options, but they have scored just four and seven goals respectively this season, with many pointing to the pair as a significant reason for the team’s struggles.

However, against Brighton, Zirkzee played well, adding to the performances off the bench against Arsenal and Southampton for which he was applauded.

Against Brighton it was Zirkzee who won the penalty that Fernandes converted to hand United their only goal.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher described on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch that Zirkzee did well to make the defender “panic” before fouling the Netherlands international inside the Brighton area.

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While Zirkzee has been underwhelming since he signed for the club in the 2024 summer transfer window, he has not been handed a string of games to help his confidence grow, and across the next few ties against Rangers, Fulham, and FCSB, Amorim has the chance to do just that.

Zirkzee should be handed starts against all three teams, as Højlund’s performances of late have done little to warrent benching the Netherlands international following his display against Brighton.

Striker is one of the few positions within Amorim’s current team that is still up for significant debate concerning who should be starting there, and the 23-year-old has the perfect chance to stake his claim.

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