Manchester City-Brighton is a match of the ninth day of the Premier League and is played on Saturday at 4 pm: TV, lineups, predictions.
For Pep Guardiola, coach of Manchester City, the break for national team commitments was probably a panacea. His men perhaps needed to catch their breath, as a jaw-dropping start of eight consecutive victories between competitions has resulted in three defeats in the last four games.
An unusual roster for a battleship that is used to leaving only crumbs to its opponents. It is too early to speak of a crisis, but it is inevitably a moment of downturn: it is up to the Catalan coach to analyze the causes and find an antidote as soon as possible. In the standings, meanwhile, Haaland and his teammates in addition to losing the first have been overtaken by the two Londoners – so far the fiercest competitors – Tottenham and Arsenal, with Liverpool and Aston Villa remaining close behind. They are now two, we said, consecutive defeats in the Premier League (the third one the Cityzens had suffered in the League Cup, exiting the competition immediately). After the unexpected one with Wolves (2-1), the English and European champions surrendered to Arsenal in the away match at the Emirates Stadium: a very balanced match decided by a goal by Martinelli in the final.
Guardiola hopes that the home air – Manchester City has won all 13 of its last matches played in front of its own public – can reinvigorate his team, which will face Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton when it returns from the break.
Milner
The Seagulls, with all due proportion, have also slowed down in recent weeks, both in the Premier League and Europa League, evidently feeling the fatigue from the double commitment. Brighton has not won since last Sept. 24, and in their last four games they have lost to Chelsea and Aston Villa – a very heavy 6-1 loss at Villa Park – and drawn with Marseille and Liverpool.
The Prediction
Manchester City has won 11 of the last 13 confrontations with Brighton: the Seagulls have not beaten the Cityzens since May 2021. There does not seem to be a case for a feat by De Zerbi’s team, which has appeared less polished in the past few weeks, but it is likely that at least one goal Brighton will manage to score. Since the Premier League has started again, it has never been out of breath.
The probable lineups of Manchester City-Brighton
- MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Ruben Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Foden, Julian Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland.
- BRIGHTON (4-2-3-1): Steele; Veltman, Dunk, Webster, March; Baleba, Gross; Adingra, Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-2
