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Manchester City vs Brighton news: Citizens on high alert as Seagulls target hat-trick of upsets

Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola

For the first time in four years, Manchester City have gone on a three-match winless run in a single season. Pep Guardiola needs that to change as he looks to avoid a late collapse.

It's remarkable to think that April 2018 was the last time Man City went on a three-match winless run during a single campaign. 

City's current win drought began with a 2-2 draw at home against Liverpool in the Premier League. They followed that up with a goalless draw at Atletico Madrid and a 3-2 defeat to the Reds in the FA Cup semi-final.

Interestingly, four years ago, the Citizens were also stopped by Liverpool on two occasions. Pep Guardiola's men went on to win a Premier League/League Cup double that season, and a double is exactly what they're after this year as well.

Following their FA Cup exit, the Premier League and Champions League are the only remaining avenues for City to win a trophy this season.
Guardiola will be desperate to avoid an end-of-season collapse, and making a statement against Brighton would be the perfect starting point. However, with the Seagulls arriving at the Etihad on the back of away wins against Arsenal and Tottenham, they certainly won't be short on confidence.

When: Wednesday, April 20, 20:00 BST

Where: Etihad Stadium

Where to watch: Not televised in the UK

Follow this game via our score centre

Who is the ref for Manchester City vs Brighton?

Mike Dean will take charge of proceedings on Tuesday night. The experienced 53-year-old has overseen Brighton's 2-2 draw away at Anfield and their 1-1 draw away at Stamford Bridge.
He has also officiated two Man City games this season - their 2-1 win over Aston Villa in December, and their 4-1 win over Southampton in the FA Cup last March.
Premier League season stats 2021/22: Matches (20), yellow cards (67), red cards (2), penalties (5)

Recent form

Manchester City come into Tuesday's game having won just three of their last eight games in all competitions. This, interestingly, includes three goalless draws - against Sporting Lisbon, Crystal Palace and Atletico Madrid.

With the Citizens enjoying a one-point lead in the standings, winning against Brighton this midweek is paramount if they are to maintain their league leader status.

Speaking of the Seagulls, Graham Potter's men recently ended their seven-match winless run - which did include six straight defeats - and have miraculously backed that up with successive wins against top four contenders.
A 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates was followed by a 1-0 victory away at Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester City and Brighton players in form

If fully fit, Kevin De Bruyne is the key man for Manchester City.

The Belgium international has scored six goals in his last seven outings, including a brace against Manchester United last March.
Brighton, on the other hand, have seen the emergence of Leandro Trossard over the last coupe of weeks.
The midfielder enjoyed a stellar showing against Norwich before scoring key goals against Arsenal and Spurs.

Last time out

Brighton 1-4 Man City (Premier League - October 23, 2021)
Manchester City completely tore Brighton to shred when the two teams last met.
A goal from Ilkay Gundogan and a brace from Phil Foden gave the visitors a three-goal lead inside the opening 30 minutes.
Brighton did get one back courtesy of an Alexis Mac Allister penalty, but Riyad Mahrez finished the game off with a stoppage time effort to make it 4-1.

Past ten matches (all competitions)

Man City wins: 9

Draws: 0

Brighton wins: 1

Man City goals: 28

Brighton goals: 6

Managers' thoughts:

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola when asked about his upcoming opponents: “Every time we play against Brighton (is tough) - I have a lot of admiration for how they play and the results they have got. A good test for us.

"The challenge is the same like last two weeks. We are going to play every game like it is a final to get an opportunity to play another one.

“We will fight until the end and try to get results."

Brighton boss Graham Potter on recovering from the recent seven-match winless run: "We could have put our penalties away and we could be closer to the European spots.

"But we have missed penalties and little margins here and there and all of a sudden you're as I said after the Manchester Utd game we lost both our centre-backs things happen that destabilise the team, the way you are set up so you have to recover but we've taken steps again I think we're on 40 points now with six games to go.
"The challenge is for us to get as many points as we can between now and the end of the season and you assess and go okay, how can we improve again.
"But it's been a good experience for us all I think to suffer because you need to suffer sometimes in order to grow."

Predicted Manchester City vs Brighton teams

Pep Guardiola made seven changes for the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool, and more are expected this weekend as the Spaniard looks to field his strongest possible side.
Kevin De Bruyne made the bench at Wembley and is available for the Brighton game. Kyle Walker though remains a doubt due to his twisted ankle.
Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Rodri and Riyad Mahrez are also expected to start.
Brighton, in contrast, will be without Jakub Moder and Shane Duffy as both men continue to recover from injuries.
Steven Alzate is also a doubt after coming down with illness.
Possible Manchester City starting line-up: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Silva, Sterling
Possible Brighton starting line-up: Sanchez, Veltman, Dunk, Cucurella, Lamptey, Caicedo, Bissouma, Gross, Trossard, Mwepu, Mac Allister

Manchester City vs Brighton prediction

Should Brighton back up their wins over Arsenal and Tottenham with a triumph over Man City, that would certainly go down as one of the best runs of this Premier League season.
However, with the Citizens determined to return to winning ways and desperate to maintain their title charge, it's hard to go against them.
With that in mind, we're backing Pep Guardiola's men to seal all three points with a two-goal win.

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