Brighton vs Man City: Match Preview & predictions
Brighton vs Man City: Match Preview & predictions. Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City side will be aiming to bring their run of three successive defeats to an end on Saturday evening, when they travel to the south coast to take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.
The reigning Premier League champions followed up their defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup fourth round with losses away at Bournemouth in the Premier League and Sporting CP in the Champions League. Their crushing 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Portuguese champions, has alarm bells ringing on the blue half of Manchester.
Injuries have no doubt limited the effectiveness of the famous and relentless Man City winning machine, with Rodri the most notable absentee at the base of their midfield. Erling Haaland’s lack of goals recently and avoidable defensive errors, have so far proven costly in recent matches for the Cityzens.
Visiting Brighton is never a straightforward task and Fabian Hurzeler‘s side will no doubt push Man City to their limits at the AMEX Stadium. Despite failing to win any of their last three outings including two defeats to Liverpool, the Seagulls have the energy, intensity and attacking firepower to punish any sloppiness in the Cityzens squad.
Here is how we preview the interesting crunch clash on the south coast this Saturday evening.
What time does Brighton vs Man City kick-off?
Location: Brighton, England
Stadium: AMEX Stadium
Date: Saturday 9 November
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT / 12:30 ET / 09:30 PT
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Jarred Gillett
Brighton vs Man City H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Brighton: 0 wins
Man City: 4 wins
Draws: 1
Last meeting: Brighton 0-4 Man City (25 April 2024) – Premier League.
Brighton team news;
Hurzeler during his last press conference provided a positive injury update ahead of the clash with Man City, claiming that star striker Joao Pedro and summer recruit Matt O’Riley have a “big chance” of being involved against the Cityzens.
Yasin Ayari is struggling with an ankle injury but could be involved at the weekend according to the Brighton boss, while Carlos Baleba, who didn’t feature in either clash with Liverpool, should be involved in some capacity.
Lewis Dunk and Yankuba Minteh are major doubts to feature against the defending champions, while the English trio of Solly March, Adam Webster and James Milner are all unavailable for selection.
Brighton predicted lineup vs Man City
Brighton (4-4-2): Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Igor, Estupinan; Kadioglu, Hinshelwood, Baleba, Mitoma; Rutter, Welbeck.
Man City team news;
Man City are still without Rodri for the rest of the season and young Oscar Bobb is still missing with a leg fracture keeping him out till 2025. Elsewhere, the trio of Ruben Dias, John Stones and Jack Grealish are all expected to be absent for Saturday’s clash.
Stones has been left out of the England squad for the November international break, although Grealish has been included despite his injury fears. Dias has also been omitted from the Portugal squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League ties.
Pep Guardiola is likely to make changes from the side that were beaten 4-1 by Sporting, especially in defence. Kevin De Bruyne could also feature again after making a cameo off the bench in Lisbon midweek following a long-term layoff.
Man City predicted lineup vs Brighton
Man City (4-1-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic; Savinho, Foden, Gundogan, Doku; Haaland.
Brighton vs Man City score prediction;
Man City at the moment, look a shadow of their typically dominant selves and confidence will have taken a hit following three disappointing defeats on the bounce. Last weekend’s loss at Bournemouth shows that intense pressure and direct transitions can hurt the Cityzens.
Brighton will be seeking to inflict more misery on Guardiola’s side, even if they haven’t beaten the Sky Blues since May 2021. Hurzeler’s side smothered Liverpool with their intensity in the first half of last Saturday’s defeat and they will be aiming to replicate that performance over 90 minutes in front of a home crowd.
Man City are still Man City not withstanding their current form and will be characteristically brilliant in moments, but they may lose more ground in the title race should they drop more points on this tricky trip to the south coast. But expect the Cityzens to come out on top for this one.
Prediction: Brighton 1-3 Man City
