Our live stream ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League match, Manchester City vs Brighton is now up, kicking off at 18.00 GMT
You can keep an eye on the commentary as it happens below, but first we take a preview into the fixture, lineups, predictions and much more…
Pep Guardiola’s side cruised past Birmingham City 3-0 to progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup last time they were out. Bernardo Silva netted a quickfire double before Phil Foden’s strike put the game to bed before half time.
That result came days after Guardiola’s men had advanced to the EFL Cup final with a dominant win at the home of their bitter rivals Manchester United, and City have certainly hit top gear at a crucial time of the campaign.
Wednesday’s hosts are unbeaten in 13 and are on a six-game winning streak in all competitions – scoring 15 and conceding just twice in that run – and have propelled themselves into title contention as the season approaches its midway point.
As things stand, Guardiola’s men occupy fifth spot in the Premier League table, but reigning champions Liverpool – who have begun to falter recently – are only four points clear of City having played two games more.
Brighton needed penalties to knock out League Two side Newport County out on penalties.
Seagulls goalkeeper Jason Steele did not cover himself in glory over the full 120 minutes, but the 30-year-old quickly went from villain to hero as he saved four penalties in a dramatic finale, with Brighton edging the shootout 5-4 to avoid being on the wrong end of another giant killing.
Manager Graham Potter described the experience as “traumatic” as the Seagulls managed to end their eight-game winless run, and the 45-year-old will be desperate to see his side carry that momentum forward in the Premier League, where Brighton can only boast a solitary win from their last 15 attempts.
City and Brighton last met in July, with the Citizens winning 5-0 at the Amex Arena…
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Pep Guardiola
On Aguero…
“He’s in quarantine. I think after nine or ten days he will be back”
On Forden…
“He’s playing like he always has – high standards in all departments. There are still margins to improve but from day one I am delighted about his behaviour. The quality will do the rest.”
Team news…
“Raheem Sterling passed fit. Laporte is injured, Nathan is injured, Cole Palmer is isolating and the rest are okay.”
On Brighton…
“They are a joy to watch and analyse. When you see them, you are concerned of the quality. I said to the players today that we will have to be at a high standard to compete against them.”
“They have better stats in all departments except maybe the final third but what they create and how few they concede I am a big fan of Graham Potter.”
“Everyone plays in their position and the ball comes, the courage to play everywhere. I like a lot what they play and it will be a good test tomorrow after a lot of games for everyone. That is my only concern.”
Team in good form…
“No room for let-up though. Still, the game against West Bromwich, after that our performance has been good but every game you have to regain your mood and solidarity and quality to win again.”
“The consequence of the way we played is the results and we have to continue. There isn’t much time to think about what is going to happen because the schedule in January and February is so busy but is is good to try to do it again.”
“Momentum arrives and disappears in one instant but the truth is that we cannot forget that the teams we beat recently – especially in the Premier League and Carabao Cup – we did it well but tomorrow it can disappear so you have to do it again. We are getting results and especially for the way we are playing.”
Squad gains…
“Yeah but you have to review and train. We played this period with 14 players so we were in trouble but now it is good because we won these games but we were suffering.”
“When we have five or six seasons, people can relax and not do what they have done in the past. When we talk about something they know it but you have to train, practise, review things – it’s not that what you have done in the past means it will happen again so we have to reset every morning and do it again.”
Cancelo role…
“Cancelo having a good season. He arrived last season, he was confused in the beginning because he expected something that we could not offer him but he’s a nice guy with a great heart.”
“He’s a guy whose physicality is incredible, he could play again the day after a game and this is so important us to have players consistently fit. Last season he struggled a little bit with a new club and new ideas but now he has had more time and he is playing good.”
“He was tired in the last game but hopefully tomorrow if he tries to play he can be better than the first 45 minutes against Birmingham but he was outstanding.”
“Aleks can play in his position too and Benjamin and Kyle can play in different oppositions but it depends on the opponent. I have to know if he can do it for his qualities. This alternative that he can give us as a team is so important.”
Bernardo improvement…
“Bernardo is so intelligent, he can play everywhere. He understands the game perfectly, he knows exactly what he has to do and where to play so there are no doubts. He’s back and I’m incredibly delighted for the two goals he scored and we need him”
“They have been solid, they don’t concede much, defensively they are very sound and the fluidity that you associate with them has been getting better and better as you’d expect, they’re a top team.”
Graham Potter
On Man City…
“They’re in a really good moment. The Chelsea game in particular was one of the best games I have seen from a performance perspective, they were fantastic.”
On playing city over the years…
“We feel that we have improved, certainly performance-wise, results-wise we haven’t,”
“That’s the challenge for us, we have to improve that.”
“Performance-wise we have got better, funnily enough the game at the Etihad last season we were quite satisfied with, even though the scoreline was 4-0.”
“It’s a fantastic challenge, they’re one of the best teams in European football. What better way than to play against that sort of opposition?”
More on City…
“They have lots of top individuals, but collectively they’re an amazing outfit, all credit to Pep and his staff for that,”
“They’ve not just got the talent, the tactical flexibility, just the attacking football, there’s an attitude to run, to fight, to work hard, there’s a humility about the team.”
“They go about their work in an amazing way, they’re worthy Premier League champions for two of the last three years, they’re a fantastic team.”
FORM:
Manchester City Premier League form: WDDWWW
Manchester City form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form: LDDDLD
Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions): DDDLDW
LINEUPS:
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Mendy; Rodri, Gundogan; Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling; Jesus
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Webster, Dunk, Burn; Veltman, Propper, White, March; Trossard, Mac Allister; Maupay
SPORTSMOLE PREDICTION:
Manchester City 3-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Manchester City have not been their usual dominant selves on the attacking front throughout the campaign, but at the other end of the pitch, their defensive prowess is evident.
Brighton supporters will not be looking ahead to this tie with any optimism whatsoever, and this should be a routine win for Guardiola’s men over the struggling Seagulls.
Time to take a look at our Manchester City vs Brighton and Hove Albion live match stream as it happens…
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