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Brighton vs Manchester City (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch

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The reigning Premier League champions travel to the south coast as they look to take home a vital three points in their ongoing top-flight title race.

Last time out, Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City squad took on Chelsea in the semi-final stage of the FA Cup, in a match that proved to be a close 1-0 victory thanks to a late strike from Bernardo Silva.

The first-half came to a close without a goal, which would carry into the late stages of the second-half despite numerous efforts for Chelsea’s Nicholas Jackson, all of which were responded to excellently by Stefan Ortega.

Bernardo Silva found the back of the net with only seven minutes to go, which would be enough to secure a spot at Wembley Stadium for the current FA Cup holders against Manchester United in next month’s showpiece final.

On the other side of Thursday’s ticket sits Roberto De Zerbi’s ever-impressive Brighton & Hove Albion side, who currently sit in 10th place, going into the match off the back of 1-1 draw against former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany’s Burnley.

Given the recent setbacks for both Arsenal and Liverpool – with Jurgen Klopp’s side most recently losing on Wednesday night – it is imperative for Manchester City to maintain their own excellent run of form and claim all three points.

Match Details

The match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City will take place on Thursday 25 March with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 UK time.

Team News

Erling Haaland is set to miss his second successive match on Thursday night, after the Norwegian striker sat out of the weekend’s FA Cup clash against Chelsea through an injury that Pep Guardiola has confirmed to not be too serious.

“Erling (Haaland) is not ready for tomorrow (against Brighton)… It’s not a big issue, but he’s not available,” explained Pep Guardiola during his pre-match press conference at the City Football Academy.

While the Norwegian international striker will not be available, the same cannot be said for Phil Foden and John Stones, who will both be ready for Thursday night’s match at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi will go into the match significantly shorthanded however, as he is set to be without the likes of Billy Gilmour, Tariq Lamptey, James Milner, Kaoru Mitoma, Evan Ferguson, and Jack Hinshelwood.

Head to Head

In their last five meetings, Manchester City have managed to take down the Seagulls four times, with their only dropping of points coming in the form of a draw at the end of last season.

When the two sides met back in October, Julian Alvarez and the aforementioned Erling Haaland managed to find the back of the net at the Etihad Stadium, which helped nullify the late efforts of Ansu Fati.

Statistics

  • Brighton have lost 11 of their 13 Premier League games against Manchester City (W1 D1), though each of their four points earned against the Citizens in the competition have come across their last three home games against them (W1 D1 L1).
  • Manchester City have scored in all 13 of their Premier League games against Brighton – and have only faced Bournemouth (14) more often in the competition while scoring in every game.
  • Both times Manchester City have failed to beat Brighton in the Premier League have come in a midweek game at the Amex Stadium; they lost 3-2 in May 2021 (Tuesday) and drew 1-1 in May 2023 (Wednesday). However, they had already been confirmed as champions both times.
  • Brighton have failed to score in all three of their midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League games so far in 2024, drawing 0-0 with both West Ham and Brentford and losing 4-0 to Luton.
  • Manchester City have won 17 of their 19 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League games over the last three seasons, with the exceptions being a 1-1 draw at Brighton (May 2023) and a 1-0 loss at Aston Villa (December 2023).

How to Watch

For viewers in the United Kingdom, you can view the match on Sky Sports.

For viewers in the United States, you can view the match on USA Network, with kick-off slated for 3:00 p.m. EST.

Viewers elsewhere in the world can find out how to watch here!

You can also follow the match on the City Xtra Youtube Channel via our live WatchAlong show!

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