Manchester City vs Brighton preview: Five players absent for the Blues

By Ric Turner, Wed 13 January 2021 14:07


Manchester City vs Brighton preview: Five players absent for the BluesSergio Aguero, Nathan Ake, Aymeric Laporte, Eric Garcia and Cole Palmer all miss Seagulls' visit

Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Competition: F.A. Premier League

Date: 6.00 pm, Wednesday 13th January 2021

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Referee: Darren England Assistants: S Burt, S Bennett Fourth Official: M Oliver VAR: M Dean

Odds: City 1/7, Draw 7/1, Brighton 16/1

TV: BT Sport

Manchester City

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Squad (from): Ederson, Steffen, Carson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, Mendy, Cancelo, Harwood-Bellis, Mbete, Gundogan, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Silva, Fernandinho, Foden, Nmecha, Sterling, Jesus, Torres, Mahrez, Delap

Injured: Laporte, Ake, Aguero, Garcia

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

Form guide: WWWWW

Brighton & Hove Albion

Manager: Graham Potter

Squad (from): Ryan, Steele, Sanchez, White, Webster, Dunk, Bernardo, Burn, Veltman, MacAllister, Gross, Lallana, Alzate, March, Propper, Sanders, Gwargis, Connolly, Maupay, Trossard, Jahanbakhsh

Injured: Welbeck, Lamptey, Izquierdo, Andone

Doubtful: Connolly, Lallana, Alzate, Jahanbakhsh

Suspended: Bissouma

Form guide: DDLDD

Sergio Aguero is unavailable for the visit of Brighton after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for Covid. He will now isolate for up to 10 days. Eric Garcia and Cole Palmer are also self-isolating, whilst Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte remain injured.

Brighton have injury worries of their own, with the likes of Danny Welbeck, Tariq Lamptey and José Izquierdo all missing for the Seagulls, but Pep Guardiola warned his side against any complacency.

“They are a joy to watch,” said Guardiola. “A joy to analyse.

“At the same time, when you see them you are concerned about the quality. I said to the players today, we have to be at a high standard to beat them.

“Forget the results we had in the past. They are better in all departments. They create more than they concede. The only issue is in the final third.

“I am a big fan of Graham Potter. Everybody knows what they have to do. They have the courage to play everywhere.”

City won their last home game against Brighton 4-0, with goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero (2) and Bernardo Silva. Overall City have won 15 of the 24 games played against the Seagulls, with 5 draws and 4 defeats.

Predicted line-up: Ederson, Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko, Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Foden, Sterling, Jesus

Score prediction: City 2 Brighton 0