Prediction: Manchester City vs Brighton

Prediction: Manchester City win

Best Odds: 1/6

Bookmaker: 888sport

As millions around the world continue to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, one slice of normality has remained the same – sport. We’re now in a new year and that means we’re going to be experiencing a whole lost of games coming at us thick and fast between now and May, which is especially true in the English Premier League. Today, we’re going to take a look at something of a David vs Goliath encounter with Brighton & Hove Albion preparing to make the trip up north to face Manchester City.

Manchester City

Manchester City fans should be feeling optimistic about the future, and not just because they keep being linked with a move for Lionel Messi this summer. Pep Guardiola isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination and he doesn’t act as if he is, and in many ways, we think that benefits City. He’s had time to think about what went wrong last season and at the start of this season, and moving forward, they should be a far more knowledgable team.

Team News

Torres, Walker and Jesus are all set to be available after their issues with COVID-19, but the following players have all been ruled out: Aguero, Carson, Garcia and Palmer. In terms of fitness doubts, Sterling, Laporte and Ake are all set to be assessed before kick-off.

Brighton

The expectations surrounding Brighton & Hove Albion aren’t exactly huge but after years of just surviving in the top flight, many want to see them kick on and really start to thrive. Whether that means a top half finish or potentially even playing European football one day is unknown, but Graham Potter is really starting to feel like someone who has a direction for this club – for better or worse.

Team News

While Alzate has been tipped to feature in the starting XI, there isn’t a whole lot of other good news for the Seagulls heading into this game. Bissouma is out through suspension with the following players being on the shelf: Connolly, Andone, Izquierdo, Lamptey, Lallana and Welbeck.

Factors to Consider

• In their last meeting back in July, Man City beat Brighton 5-0.
• Man City have won their last six games in all competitions.
• Brighton have drawn five and lost one of their last six games.
• Man City have scored 15 goals and conceded two in their last six games.
• Brighton have scored seven goals and conceded eight in their last six games.

Conclusion

Brighton are a spirited team but being spirited isn’t going to be enough to beat one of the best teams in world football right now. Pep Guardiola knows that if City can just keep winning games then they’ll leap ahead of Liverpool in the race to win the title, and flying under the radar is a position they’ll feel really comfortable with. The pressure is on to a certain extent, but they shouldn’t have to work too hard to get the win here.

Prediction: Manchester City win

Best Odds: 1/6

Bookmaker: 888sport