Albion will look to secure a victory that would take them above Manchester City in the Premier League table when they face Pep Guardiola’s team on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.
We have 16 points and sit in sixth place after eight games, two points behind third-placed City.
Team news
Roberto De Zerbi revealed in his press conference on Friday that Tariq Lamptey and Pervis Estupinan will miss out on Saturday's game, but the Italian will have James Milner available to him. He also said that Jakub Moder has returned to first team training.
"James Milner is available play, to start the game," Roberto explained. "Pascal [Gross] as well. Pervis Estupinan and Tariq Lamptey are injured. Jakub Moder has started to work with the group, which is great news for him."
How to follow the game
Our Live Match Centre will bring you all the news in the build-up, during the game and post-match.
You can also listen to live commentary on MyAlbion TV and there will be coverage across all our social media channels.
Player to watch
Despite going two games without scoring, Erling Haaland still has eight goals and an assist from eight Premier League matches this season. The Norway international has 60 goals and 11 assists in 65 career appearances for City, and his sensational form last season saw him set a Premier League record of 35 goals, the most scored in a single campaign.
Past meetings
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The opening 45 minutes of our 1-1 draw with City at the Amex at the end of last season saw some hugely entertaining football. Phil Foden gave the visitors the lead, before Julio Enciso scored the Goal of the Season with a long-range effort that found the top right corner.
The point secured our place in the Europa League. City had been confirmed champions a few days earlier.
Stats and facts
Manchester City have won ten of their 12 Premier League meetings with Brighton (D1 L1). The only exceptions have been in May 2021 (2-3) and May 2023 (1-1), having already become champions at the time of those matches.
Brighton have never won an away league game against Manchester City (D2 L11), losing their last nine visits in a row by an aggregate score of 24-3.
Manchester City have scored at least once in 25 of their 26 league games against Brighton, with the only exception being a 0-0 draw in November 1984 at the Goldstone Ground.
There have been 37 goals scored in Brighton’s league matches this season (21 for and 16 against), the second-most of any side in Europe’s big five leagues, after Granada in LaLiga (38).
Manchester City have lost consecutive league matches for the first time since December 2018, last losing three games in a row in the Premier League back in February-March 2016 under Manuel Pellegrini. Indeed, Pep Guardiola has lost three league games in a row just once before in his managerial career – with Bayern Munich in May 2015.
Albion have both scored and conceded in each of their eight games in the Premier League this season, in addition to their final four games last season. There have been two previous instances of a team scoring and conceding in their first nine games in a campaign in the competition – Middlesbrough in 2000-01 and Leicester City in 2015-16, when the Foxes won the title.
Manchester City have won each of their last 20 games in all competitions at the Etihad Stadium, a run that started against Chelsea in the FA Cup in January. With a win against Brighton, they would set a new record for the longest home winning run in all competitions by a Premier League side, surpassing Manchester United’s run of 20 games between December 2010 and September 2011.
Manchester City's Phil Foden has scored in all five of his Premier League starts against Brighton (6 goals in total). Indeed, he's been involved in more goals against the Seagulls than any other opponent in his league career so far (7 – 6 goals, 1 assist).
Brighton’s goal kicks have ended in their own penalty area 96% of the time in the Premier League this season (53/55), the highest percentage of any side. The average distance the ball travels for their goal kicks is 8.1 metres, with the next lowest side being Manchester United at 19.2 metres. Comparatively, the average distance of Manchester City’s goal kicks is 39.2 metres, with 36% of their goal kicks ending in their own penalty area.
Erling Haaland has failed to score in consecutive league games for Manchester City, attempting just one shot across those two matches, after recording 31 shots from his first six games this season. Haaland has never failed to score in three consecutive Premier League matches.
Match officials
Referee: Rob Jones.
Assistants: Tim Wood, Steve Meredith.
Fourth official: Jeremy Simpson.
VAR: Michael Salisbury.
Assistant VAR: Ian Hussin.