The Manchester giants won the cup competition last season, Pep Guardiola’s final campaign in charge, while finishing second in the Premier League, this time behind Arsenal. They also lost to Arsenal, now managed by Maresca, after the summer break in the English Super Cup. After that, however, City won every match in all competitions, including in October, despite almost all the accusations against them being upheld. Their only setbacks came against PSG in the Champions League and Aston Villa in the most recent round of the Premier League.
The south-coast side won a fiercely contested battle for eighth place. That sent the Seagulls into the Conference League, where they came through qualifying in the summer and beat Zalgiris Kaunas in October, but were held to a goalless draw by Jablonec. They have also stepped up domestically, winning the vast majority of their matches. Liverpool, however, proved too strong, as Brighton suffered a comprehensive 0-2 defeat.
The holders began their title defence by thrashing Norwich 5-0 with a reserve side. Last month, the visitors also travelled to Manchester in the League Cup and beat United 3-2, although they too fielded an experimental lineup.
Previous matches: Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion
In their last four encounters, the current visitors have alternated away draws with home wins.
The hosts cannot afford another slip-up at this stage, while the visitors have lost their momentum. We are expecting a “home” win (odds – 1.67).
Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion: key statistics and trends
Manchester City have lost twice in their last four matches
Manchester City score an average of 2.5 goals and concede 1.13 goals per match
Both teams have scored in 63% of Manchester City’s matches, with an average total of 3.63 goals per game
Brighton & Hove Albion have failed to win twice in a row
Brighton score an average of 2.88 goals and concede 0.88 goals per match
Both teams have scored in 25% of Brighton’s matches, with an average total of 3.75 goals per game
Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion: possible starting lineups
Manchester City play in a 1-4-2-3-1 formation (possible lineup): Rulli – O’Reilly, Reis, Khusanov, Lewis – Kovacic, Bouaddi – Aït-Nouri, Cherki, Andrade – Samba
Brighton & Hove Albion play in a 1-4-3-3 formation (possible lineup): Steele – Hadjam, Struijk, Vuskovic, Costinha – Gross, Boscagli, Chema Andres – Yalcouye, Matthew O’Reilly, Kostoulas
