Manchester City entertain Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium in what is an intriguing-looking Premier League encounter on Saturday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola's side will be looking to bounce back from last week’s 1-0 loss away at Nottingham Forest, in a game that brought up one of my City Ground selections.
That latest setback coupled with Chelsea's 1-0 win over Leicester has seen City drop out of the top four.
The Citizens can expect another stern test this weekend when in-form Brighton & Hove Albion come to town.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side solidified their own top four credentials with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Fulham, with two of my three selections landing at the Amex.
Victory made it four Premier League wins in succession for Albion, and another triumph on Saturday afternoon would see them leapfrog Man City in the top flight standings.
How the bookies view it: City to clip Seagulls’ wings
Man City – who have won three of their last four Premier League home games – are odds-on 8/13 favourites with Boylesports to bank all three points on Saturday afternoon.
Brighton are as big as 10/3 on Boylesports to make it five Premier League wins on the bounce, while a point apiece at the Etihad has been priced up at 16/5 with the same firm.
Head to head: Seagulls seeking more of the same
Brighton are out to do the double over Man City after coming from behind to defeat the Citizens 2-1 in November. Another game that sees both teams get on the scoresheet alongside over 2.5 goals looks worthy of support this weekend at 4/5 with Boylesports.
Players to watch: Haaland to hurt Albion again?
Erling Haaland has hit four goals across his previous four Premier League appearances against Brighton, including this season’s reverse fixture. The Norwegian sharpshooter looks nicely priced to notch on Saturday at 4/5 on Boylesports.
With three goals across his last four outings for Brighton in all competitions, Joao Pedro is sure to attract some attention from punters in the anytime goalscorer market at 11/4 on Boylesports.
Predicted line-ups
Man City boss Guardiola will once again be unable to call upon the services of John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Oscar Bobb and Rodri.
Brighton are carrying a heavy injury list at the moment, with as many as seven players expected to miss out at the Etihad.
Man City: Ederson; Nunes, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Kovacic; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland
Brighton: Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Webster, Estupinan; Baleba, Gomezi; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Pedro.
Anything else catch the eye?
Priced up at 3/1, Carlos Baleba looks worthy of support to be shown a card during Saturday’s top four showdown at the Etihad.
The all-action Brighton midfielder has collected five yellow cards and one red card across his 24 Premier League appearances this season.
It’s also worth noting that Baleba went into the referee’s notebook during the Seagulls’ recent FA Cup success at Newcastle.
This English Premier League match between Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion will be played on and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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