As dem dey try extend their club-record winning run and put more pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal, Manchester City go host Brighton & Hove Albion for Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
City title hope collect another hit for Sunday when dem draw 1-1 with Chelsea, while Brighton finally stop their winless run after dem beat Burnley 2-0.
Match Preview
To face Chelsea wey no get manager, low on confidence and defenders, suppose be straight win for Man City – and e almost be so – as Pep Guardiola boys control the game before and after Tijjani Reijnders open the scoring.
But City pay heavy price for not killing the match early, as Calum McFarlane Chelsea shock everybody with late equaliser from Enzo Fernandez for dying minutes, meaning say Guardiola side don record back-to-back draws for the league.
While City don draw with Sunderland and Chelsea for the last two gameweeks, Arsenal dey busy dey stack wins and don pull clear for top, leaving City six points behind and only ahead of Aston Villa by goal difference.
City fit reduce the gap to three points with win for this match before Arsenal host Liverpool on Thursday, but another draw go match Pep Guardiola personal record – na only two times before e don manage three straight league draws.
Wednesday dey usually favour City well well, as dem don win their last 22 Premier League matches wey dem play on Wednesday – na the longest winning streak any team ever get for one specific weekday.
This record no dey good news for Brighton, but their recent form get small encouragement, as Fabian Hurzeler boys finally escape their bad December after dem comfortably beat Burnley for gameweek 20.
Brighton end 2025 with three draws and three losses from their last six games, but goals from Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari ensure say Burnley return Turf Moor empty-handed.
As e stand now, Brighton dey middle of the Premier League table with over half of the season gone, and surprise win for Etihad fit pull dem level on points with fifth-placed Chelsea.
Even though City defensive wahala dey increase, Brighton sef dey struggle away from home, as dem don concede at least two goals in each of their last three away matches – worst run since 2022/23 season.
Hurzeler manage special 2-1 win over City back in August, but City never lose any of their last 15 home league games against Brighton – na the team dem don host most times without losing.
Manchester City Premier League form:
Manchester City form (all competitions):
Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form:
Team News
City injury wahala increase against Chelsea as Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol both come off injured. Dias go miss four to six weeks with hamstring injury, while Gvardiol fit miss the rest of the season after serious leg fracture.
Dem join Oscar Bobb (thigh), John Stones (unspecified), Mateo Kovacic (ankle), Savinho (unspecified), Rayan Ait-Nouri (AFCON) and Omar Marmoush (AFCON) for City injury list, though Nico Gonzalez don return to fitness.
Nathan Ake and Abdukodir Khusanov go likely step in for Dias and Gvardiol, while Erling Haaland go dey hungry to avoid going four straight league starts without goal for the first time for him career.
For Brighton side, their win over Burnley see club legend Pascal Gross make emotional return to Amex Stadium after e rejoin from Borussia Dortmund, coming on as second-half substitute.
Yankuba Minteh fit return from thigh injury, but Mats Wieffer (toe), Carlos Baleba (AFCON), Solly March (knee), Adam Webster (knee) and Stefanos Tzimas (knee) still dey sidelined.
Danny Welbeck never score for nine league games wey e don play for Etihad, and that run fit continue, as young striker Charalampos Kostoulas impress for his first Premier League start and fit keep his place.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Lewis, Khusanov, Ake, O’Reilly; Rodri; Cherki, Foden, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Gomez, Ayari; Gruda, Rutter, Mitoma; Kostoulas
We Say: Manchester City 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
With their defence thin well well, City go find am hard to shut out Brighton wey don regain confidence, and Guardiola boys clearly need to sharpen their finishing after Chelsea match.
But Brighton defensive struggles away from home fit cost dem again, and City fit use attacking firepower to grind out a very important win.
