Brighton vs. Man City
Venue: Amex Stadium
Kick off: 5:30PM
Third meets fourth in the Premier League at the Amex Stadium today, as Brighton & Hove Albion play host to Manchester City on the South Coast.
The Seagulls were held to a goalless stalemate by basement side Norwich City last time out, while the champions eased to a comprehensive 2-0 success over Burnley.
While it may be too early to determine whether Brighton’s fast start to the season is slowly petering out, the Seagulls’ dominance has turned to draws in recent weeks, the latest of which came against bottom-of-the-table Norwich City.
Despite bossing the ball with 65 per cent possession and firing seven shots on target, there was no way through for Graham Potter’s men at Carrow Road, with that result representing their third one-pointer in a row following previous stalemates with Crystal Palace and Arsenal.
However, with 11 points from the last 15 on offer under their belts during a five-game unbeaten league run, the high-flying Seagulls remain in the top four of the rankings, although they are now only above Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference.
Brighton may have only chalked up eight goals at the correct end of the pitch so far – the fewest out of any side in the top half – but only Chelsea and City have shipped fewer than their five at the other end, as Potter’s well-coached side finally produce the results that their performances have so often warranted.
The Seagulls have also suffered just one defeat in their last nine Premier League battles on home soil, but with a league-high 22 yellow cards already this term, indiscipline could prove fatal against the rampant champions.
Continuing their surge up the rankings following the international break, Man City barely needed to get out of second gear to sink Burnley at the Etihad last time out, with Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne both making the net ripple on home soil in gameweek eight.
Pep Guardiola’s side were expected to face a much sterner test against Club Brugge in the Champions League, but the Belgian champions’ resilience was broken in a storming 5-1 win for the English champions, although that result was overshadowed by reports of a Man City supporter being hospitalised after an attack following the game.
On the pitch, Man City have certainly consigned their opening-day defeat to Tottenham Hotspur to history – taking 17 points from the last 21 on offer in the division – and they now occupy third spot in the rankings behind Liverpool and leaders Chelsea.
With only three goals conceded – all of which have come on the road – City’s defensive record is unsurprisingly the joint-best alongside Chelsea, although the travelling party will need no reminding of what happened during their most recent trip to the Amex.
Indeed, Brighton marched to a remarkable 3-2 win on the South Coast after recovering from going two goals behind back in May, although City have won the other seven Premier League meetings between the two teams and have never failed to score more than twice at the Amex in that time.
Brighton possible XI: Sanchez, Dunk, Duffy, Burn, Veltman, Gross, Bissouma, Lallana, Cucurella, Maupay, Trossard.
Man City possible XI: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Foden, Grealish.
