Man City vs Brighton

Two of the Premier League’s master tacticians go head-to-head this weekend as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City host Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton & Hove Albion.

The international break probably came at just the right time for City after last season’s treble winners suffered a third successive domestic defeat at the hands of title rivals Arsenal just before the Premier League’s hiatus. A late Gabriel Martinelli strike added to the Cityzens’ woes after losses against Wolves and Newcastle United, the latter in the Carabao Cup, had come previously.

Brighton have been in uncharacteristically poor form of late too. The Seagulls are without a win in four matches, having most recently drawn back-to-back matches 2-2 with Marseille and Liverpool.

With both sides desperate to get back on track, let’s take a look at Manchester City’s clash with Brighton in closer detail.

Man City vs Brighton H2H record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

Manchester City nearly have a fully fit squad, with the only absentee being midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian will be out for some time yet after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season, but Guardiola does have some other faces to welcome back.

Rodri’s return against Brighton will likely prove pivotal, especially considering City lost all three games he was suspended for following a red card against Nottingham Forest. The midfielder has proven himself irreplaceable for Guardiola, who will be grateful to have him back against a tricky opponent.

Jack Grealish has returned to full fitness, featuring for England over the international period, while John Stones should be in line to make his first City start since the Community Shield. The defender also featured in England’s 3-1 win over Italy that secured the Three Lions qualification for Euro 2024, although he was arguably culpable for the goal they conceded.

Man City predicted lineup vs Brighton (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Lewis; Foden, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland.

The only two guaranteed absentees for De Zerbi are South American duo Pervis Estupinan and Julio Enciso. The former missed the clash with Liverpool prior to the international break and was ruled out for around a month with a muscle injury sustained in late September, while the latter has been out since Brighton‘s second game of the season.

Centre-back Igor was forced off with a knock against Liverpool as well, while Tariq Lamptey withdrew from international duty with Ghana after suffering a minor injury. Kaoru Mitoma also didn’t team up with Japan this month due to fatigue, but the trio could be available for the trip to Manchester.

James Milner could miss a return to his former club at the weekend after sustaining a muscle injury against AEK Athens several weeks ago. He was initially ruled out until after the international break.

Brighton predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, March; Gross, Baleba; Adingra, Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson.

Manchester City have shown they are fallible in recent weeks, but you still have to be brave to bet against a home win this weekend. The return of Rodri will massively improve the balance of this City side, offering them greater structure in central areas.

That midfield battle could be decisive at the Etihad, with an impressive performance from Carlos Baleba against Liverpool showing what Brighton can offer in central areas. The Seagulls have a tendency to show up in big games, having already beaten Manchester United and Newcastle this campaign, and De Zerbi will have had two weeks to conjure up a master plan to stump the champions.

However, Brighton have themselves shown plenty of weakness in the past four matches, making City fairly strong favourites for Saturday’s meeting.

Prediction: Man City 3-1 Brighton

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