Manchester City and Brighton face off for the second time in the space of four days, although this time it is in the Premier League. On Wednesday evening, Enzo Maresca led his side to a penalty shootout win over the Seagulls to progress to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup. Can Brighton gain revenge this weekend?
Manchester City look to return to winning ways
Maresca and his men were brought back down to earth last weekend, suffering a surprising 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the Midlands. Up until that point, City had won seven consecutive league matches to storm to the top of the top flight. Add in two wins from three in the Champions League, Maresca couldn’t have asked for a better start.
Villa were good value for their victory last week, and it took a penalty shootout for City to defeat their opponents in the EFL Cup fourth round in midweek. The Seagulls took the lead twice over their more decorated opponents in that enthralling cup tie and a similar performance at the Etihad once again could see them take something.
With Arsenal not playing until Sunday afternoon, City have a wonderful chance of establishing a three point lead at the top of the table on Saturday.
Remarkably, City haven’t defeated Brighton in 90 minutes since April 2024, drawing three and losing two of the five matches since then. Could this winless streak finally end this weekend? Maresca will be hoping so.
Brighton set for Premier League title challenge?
An incredulous suggestion a few months ago, but Brighton are more than holding their own in the Premier League this season. Indeed, the south coast side are currently sitting third in the table, trailing City and Arsenal by just five points.
Now, nobody is expecting Fabian Hurzeler’s men to maintain this run into the festive period, but why couldn’t they? The Seagulls have scored 23 goals in eight league matches this season – the highest scorers in the Premier League. Defensively, only two teams have conceded fewer than their seven goals.
Brighton have even taken four points from six in the Conference League and look primed for progress into the knockout stages.
Things have arguably never been rosier. A win over City would be the icing on top. Should they play like they did a few nights ago, Maresca should be a worried man.
Team News
Antoine Semenyo is the only player definitely absent for this clash due to a knee injury. Mattheus Nunes missed the previous two games due to a muscle problem but is listed as available.
Brighton, however, are missing quite a few players. Kaoru Mitoma (hamstring), Femi Azeez (thigh), Pascal Struijk (thigh), Evan Ferguson (ankle), Stefanos Tzimas (knee/ACL) and Zadok Yohanna (knock) are unavailable. Leading scorer Charalampos Koustoulas and left-back Ferdi Kadıoğlu were both rested on Wednesday and are available.
Prediction
Going toe-to-toe with City in midweek will give Brighton plenty of confidence that they can secure at least a point from the Etihad on Saturday afternoon. Maresca’s aim will be to move three points clear of Arsenal, piling the pressure on the Gunners ahead of their trip to Anfield to face Liverpool.
This match could be another cracker, especially if both teams perform to the best of their ability. I’m going for a Man City victory, but it will be close at the Etihad.
Man City 2 – 1 Brighton.
