Thursday, December 16, 2021 at 4:01 PM• Dominic Mostert • Last update: 16:04

The Premier League match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion will not take place on Saturday afternoon. The Red Devils have submitted a request to move the match due to a wave of corona infections and the competition board has complied. No new date has yet been announced when the match can be made up.

The match between Brentford and Manchester United was canceled on Tuesday after several positive tests. Since then, the outbreak at Manchester United has been increasing. According to The Telegraph Nineteen people who are involved in the first team (players and staff) have tested positive. They are all currently in quarantine. The Manchester Evening News reports that only seven players from the first team would be available if the game against Brighton were to continue on Saturday.

The club said in a statement that there was simply no other option than to submit a request to move the game. Originally, that Saturday was to be played at 1.30 pm. Carrington training complex is also closed. “We regret the disappointment and inconvenience caused to fans by the postponement of the game,” said Manchester United. As a result, the number of canceled matches in the Premier League continues to increase. The counter is now at five this week.

For Brighton, it is the second game in a short time that has been canceled: on Sunday, the employer of Joël Veltman and Kjell Scherpen did not play against Tottenham Hotspur. Earlier on Thursday it became clear that the match between Leicester City and Tottenham will not take place. Both clubs are struggling with an outbreak of the corona virus.