Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Stats, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City return to action back at the Etihad Stadium against Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend in the last fixture before the March international break.

Pep Guardiola and his players are looking to gain an invaluable three points in the race for UEFA Champions League football as the competition for a top-five league finish heats up with nine games remaining in this campaign.

City come into the contest following a relatively flat performance all round last weekend against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, with a similar story unfolding to many other games this season: lots of the ball, but created very little.

Chances were few and far between throughout, with both sides struggling to carve out anything clear-cut. The closest either side came to opening the scoring in the first half was a long-range strike from Nico, striking the outside of the post as Matz Sels could only watch.

The second half brought more of the same; the Blues once again have the majority of the ball, but Forest standing their ground and putting in an exemplary defensive performance, with Ola Aina and Neco Williams giving City’s wide men a tough task.

With less than ten minutes remaining, Morgan Gibbs-White switched the ball out to Callum Hudson-Odoi, who charged at Josko Gvardiol, allowing for a shot towards the near post and beating Ederson via a slight deflection in the process.

City’s opponents this Saturday come into the game in excellent form, securing six consecutive victories across all competitions, netting 11 goals in recent Premier League outings while also remaining defensively solid, conceding just two.

In terms of the league table, both will be fixated on a win to bolster their position in the tight battle for European football next season, as only two points separate City in 5th and Aston Villa in 8th.

Brighton currently sit 7th on 46 points – a point below the Premier League champions on 47 – as they too look to finish the season strong and secure a place in a continental competition next season.

A win this weekend seems almost necessary for the Blues after dropped points to Forest last week which those in and around the European places seized upon with Newcastle, Aston Villa, Chelsea, and this week’s visitors Brighton all picking three points.

City are looking to rise to 4th with a game in hand on the current holders of the position, Chelsea, and extend the gap with Newcastle in 6th to three points, also with a game in hand on the Magpies, as they participate in the Carabao Cup Final this Sunday.

Brighton will be looking to make a statement and ensure those around them know they are in the race for European football too, in a similar position to Manchester City, with aspirations of securing a place on football’s biggest stage next season in the UEFA Champions League.

The implications are huge for both clubs’ campaigns with eyes set on the same goal, and both hope to put themselves in a more secure league position by securing a win in the last fixture before the March international break.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of this enthralling clash!

Match Details

Brighton and Hove Albion travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City this Saturday afternoon with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 (UK).

Match Officials

The Premier League have confirmed that Simon Hooper will be the referee to take charge of this contest as Fabian Hürzeler visits the Etihad Stadium for the first time as his Brighton & Hove Albion side takes on Manchester City.

Check out the full list of match officials below!

Team News

Manchester City have had no players return from injury since their clash with Nottingham Forest, and as such Nathan Aké and Manuel Akanji remain ruled out after both successfully undergoing surgery on respective issues.

John Stones is also sidelined for between 10 and 11 weeks, according to manager Pep Guardiola during recent media duties, following his thigh injury during the home clash with Real Madrid back in February.

It is unclear when Rodri will return to action or first-team training too, but the Spaniard appears to be recovering well as Manchester City’s number 16 has been pictured back training with a ball at his feet.

Oscar Bobb‘s recovery seems to be taking longer than expected, with the Norwegian still out following a leg fracture in August and a setback courtesy of an ankle problem in training in early February. City’s budding starlet has also been left out of Norway’s squad this month.

The visitors also have an extensive injury list including veteran James Milner and central defender Igor, both out longer-term. Also a doubt are club captain Lewis Dunk (abdominal), Joel Veltman (ankle), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), Matthew O’Reilly (knee) and Jason Steele (shoulder).

Head To Head

In the last encounter between these two, Erling Haaland gave Manchester City the lead early in the game as his side put on a dominant first-half performance which, in truth, should have seen themselves lead by more than one goal at the interval.

A familiar story for the Premier League champions defensively this season then unfolded late on as Brighton made City pay for opportunities they failed to capitalise on in the first 45 as they scored two quick-fire goals and stunned Pep Guardiola’s side, coming back to win 2-1.

City historically have a great record against the seagulls, as the Blues have faced Brighton 26 times across all competitions and have won 17 of those previous meetings, drawing four and losing five.

Statistics

Manchester City have never lost a home league match against Brighton (W12 D2), winning each of the last 10 in a row. It’s the most they’ve faced an opponent at home without ever losing in their league history (14).

Brighton are looking to complete their first-ever league double over Manchester City in what is the 15th different campaign in which they’ve met.

Manchester City have lost nine Premier League games this season, the joint-most league defeats that Pep Guardiola has suffered in a campaign in his managerial career (also 9 in 2019-20). The last reigning champions to lose 10+ Premier League games in a season were Chelsea in 2017-18 (10), while Man City last suffered 10 league defeats in a season in 2015-16 (10).

Brighton are currently enjoying the longest ongoing winning run in the Premier League of any side (4 games). It’s the Seagulls’ longest league winning run since April 2017 in the Championship (5) and the joint-longest ever in the top flight (also 4 from April-May 1981).

Man City have lost three Premier League home games this season, as many as they suffered at the Etihad in 2021-22 (2), 2022-23 (1) and 2023-24 (0) combined. They lost 2-0 against Liverpool last time out, only losing consecutive home league games once under Pep Guardiola (April/May 2021).

Manchester City have conceded 38 Premier League goals this season, only shipping more in a season under Pep Guardiola in 2016-17 (39). In all competitions, their 64 goals conceded this term is their most since 2015-16 (65).

Man City striker Erling Haaland has been involved in 99 Premier League goals in just 93 appearances (83 goals, 16 assists). A goal or assist in this game (or indeed any of his next six appearances) will see him become the first player to reach 100 goal involvements in fewer than 100 games.

How To Watch

For viewers in the United Kingdom, the match will not be televised due to the 3PM blackout rule, but audio coverage and coverage will still be regionally available on BBC Radio Manchester.

For viewers in the United States, the game can be streamed live on Peacock, with action getting underway from 1 PM (EST).

You can find the full global TV listings for this match here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout Wednesday evening, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!