- Manchester City has never lost to Brighton at home
- Brighton has not kept a clean sheet this season
- Manchester City has dropped four points in its last 12 matches
Defending champions Manchester City don’t currently own the top spot in the Premier League standings, but Pep Guardiola just needs one slip, one stumble, one opening by Liverpool to take control. In order to do so, City needs to take care of business.
The next bit of business is a home date with Brighton & Hove Albion Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. ET live on NBCSN or live online at NBCSports.com.
[ WATCH LIVE: Manchester City vs. Brighton & Hove Albion ]
Manchester City has rattled off three straight wins by a combined 10-1 score since drawing with Wolves back in late August. Guardiola is still missing Kevin de Bruyne, but the Belgian will return to training soon and is expected to return to the lineup in the near future. Benjamin Mendy, Eliaquim Mangala and Claudio Bravo are all still missing, but otherwise Manchester City is at full strength.
Meanwhile, Brighton sits in the crowded bottom half of the standings and has just one win on the season, earning just two points over its last four matches. The Seagulls are missing playmaker Pascal Gross who suffered an ankle injury against Fulham, plus Dale Stephens who came off midway through Saturday’s loss to Tottenham with a hamstring injury.
Each of Brighton’s last five matches have been either draws or decided by one goal. Before this past weekend’s 2-1 loss, Brighton had staged a pair of late, two-goal comebacks.
What they’re saying
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Brighton: “It’s a really good side, a good manager and they were together for a long time. They know exactly what they have to do. They are really well organized. It will be a really tough game, but we know that and we will try to do a good game.”
Brighton manager Chris Hughton on playing Manchester City: “Along with playing Liverpool away, I would say that this is the toughest game. We did okay in the Liverpool one and might’ve got a result there, so you always have to be positive going into games like this. No-one expects us to get anything from it, so that’s normal and that pressure is taken off, but we want to do as well as we can.”
Prediction
Brighton has put in a few very good performances and look a formidable opponent for anybody in the Premier League, but their defensive frailties have cost them numerous points over the last few games, and that will prove deadly against Manchester City. A few mistakes will turn into a multi-goal deficit, and this isn’t a team you can exploit late in games for a messy comeback. Pep Guardiola will earn a comfortable 2-0 victory.
