Struggling Brighton ready to welcome in-form Man City (2020-07-11)

Brighton & Hove Albion will face Manchester City in the matchday 35 of the English Premier League at the American Express Community Stadium on Saturday.

The game has a very little meaning in terms of the league standings as the home team is pretty much assured of keeping their place in the Premier League next season whereas the visitors are also looking certain to finish in the top two.

Brighton are coming in the match after a demoralizing result against newly crowned champions Liverpool where they suffered a 3-1 defeat which left them with 36 points after 34 matches.

However, the Seagulls’ recent form will give manager Graham Potter some hope coming into the Saturday’s game as Albion have suffered just two defeats in the last six league matches which also includes two victories and two draws.

On the other hand, City are having a difficult season according to their own high standards where the best they can do is finish second behind Liverpool, and that too by some margin.

In this game particularly, Manchester City will come with full of confidence after securing a thumping 5-0 win in their previous league match against lackluster Newcastle United.

Head to Head

In the previous seven meetings between the teams, Manchester City clearly has an edge over their rivals where they’ve emerged victorious on six occasions whereas on one instance, the game ended in a stalemate. Interestingly, in each of the previous two meetings between the teams, City have scored four times whereas there is only one meeting—back in April 2019—where the Citizens did not score more than one goal against Brighton.

Players to watch out for

Leandro Trossard (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Leandro Trossard is Brighton’s most in-form attacking player at the moment. The 25-year-old, who joined the Seagulls in the summer of 2019 from Belgian club KRC Genk for a reported transfer fee of £18 million, is having a pretty decent first season for his new club where he has already scored five goals and provided four assists in 28 league matches.

Two of those goals came in Brighton’s previous two matches against Norwich City and Liverpool. Therefore, manager Potter will be hoping to see his star player continue his good form in the match on Saturday which can help the home team in securing an important win.

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Raheem Sterling is termed by many as one of the very best in his position in the world of football. The England international is having another amazing season on the personal level where he is City’s second-highest scorer with 14 goals in 29 league appearances.

In the previous game against Newcastle United, the 25-year-old came just for the final 25 minutes and still managed to score a goal for the team. Therefore, in the absence of first-choice striker Sergio Aguero who is set to miss the game due to an injury, manager Pep Guardiola will be hoping to see his star winger produce another stellar of a performance on Saturday which can help City in securing three crucial points on the road.

Prediction:

Looking at team’s recent form and the past meetings, the prediction is for Manchester City to win the match with the score of 3-1.