Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion meet at Etihad Stadium, in a match for the 18th round of the Premier League. In this stadium, the history of direct confrontations is favorable to the home team, which registers 3 victories in the last 3 matches. In fact, the last time these two teams played a match at this stadium was on 31‑08‑2019, in a Premier League match that ended with Manchester City winning by (4‑0). The goals of the match were scored by S. Agüero (55 ‘and 42’), Bernardo Silva (79 ‘) and K. De Bruyne (2′) for Manchester City. In this match the home factor may be decisive, as Brighton & Hove Albion present considerable differences in their results at home and away.
Man City :
The home team is currently in 5th position, with 29 points won, after 8 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses. In the penultimate match, they won at home against Newcastle United by (2‑0). In the last match, they won away against Chelsea by (1‑3). This is a team that presents similar results at home and away, so it is not usually affected by the home factor, since in the last 30 games it has registered 10 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss as a visitor; against 11 victories, 2 draws and 2 defeats in his stadium. The team comes to this match after a home win against Birmingham City by (3‑0). For the championship, Manchester City won 14 points out of a possible 21, after 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the last 7 games they played at their stadium.
For this competition, he has not lost in his stadium for 6 games. In their home league matches the most frequent final result at half ‑ time was 1‑1 (3 out of 7 matches). His attack has scored regularly, since he has scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition. There is 1 period that stands out in the last 20 home matches for all competitions: they have conceded 5 of their 14 goals between minutes (76’ ‑ 90 ‘).
Manchester City part for this motivated match, after a 3×0 victory over Birmingham, in a FA Cup match: the team’s goals were scored by Bernardo Silva (2) and Phil Foden. On the last day of the Premier League, they beat Chelsea 1×3. Coach Pep Guardiola must present the team in a 4-3-3, favoring the maintenance of possession and organized attacks, especially through the right: Riyad Mahrez is very fast and competent in transporting the ball for the attack . Forward Raheem Sterling is Manchester City’s top scorer, with four goals. For this game, the coach of the house does not have Sergio Agüero, Eric García and Scott Carson, all of whom are quarantined.
Brighton :
The visiting team is currently in 17th position, with 14 points won, after 2 wins, 8 draws and 7 losses. In the penultimate match, they lost at home to Arsenal by (0‑1). In the last match, they tied at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers, by (3‑3). This is a team that, curiously, tends to achieve more positive results as a visitor than at home, since in the last 30 games they have registered 5 victories, 7 draws and 3 defeats as a visitor, with 18 goals scored and 16 suffered; against 1 victory, 8 draws and 6 defeats in their stadium, with 15 goals scored and 24 suffered. The team comes to this match after an away win against Newport County by (3‑4), in a penalty shootout. For the championship, Brighton & Hove Albion won 9 points out of a possible 24, after 2 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses in the last 8 away games. Their defense has not been very solid, since they have conceded goals in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In their home matches there is a tendency for goals, since 6 of their last 8 matches for this competition have ended with Over 2,5 goals. In 17 games in this competition, he never got the comeback in the 8 games in which he suffered the first goal.
The Brighton team comes into this game after a penalty shootout win against Newport in an FA Cup match. In their last Premier League game, the visitors drew 3×3 with Wolverhampton. In this away game, coach Graham Potter is expected to play 3-4-3, favoring the defensive organization and countering down the flanks. Forward Neal Maupay is one of Brighton’s top scorers, with six goals scored. For this game the visiting coach cannot count on Yves Bissouma, suspended, as well as Danny Welbeck, Adam Lallana, Tariq Lamptey, Florin Andone, José Izquierdo and Aaron Connolly, all with physical problems.
