Sports
Manchester City v Brighton – Line-ups, stats and preview
Match Preview for Manchester City v Brighton
Aiming to extend a club-record streak and pile pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal, Manchester City welcome Brighton to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The Cityzens’ title hopes suffered another setback in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea last time out, while Brighton snapped a winless run by seeing off Burnley 2-0.
Facing a managerless Chelsea side low on confidence and defensive options appeared a favourable opportunity for City, and Pep Guardiola’s side largely controlled proceedings either side of Tijjani Reijnders’ opener.
However, the hosts failed to capitalise on their dominance and were punished late on, with Enzo Fernandez striking late on in the closing stages to force a 1-1 draw, leaving City with back-to-back Premier League draws following their goalless encounter with Sunderland.
Those dropped points have allowed Arsenal to open up a six-point lead at the top of the table, leaving City second and only above Aston Villa on goal difference.
Victory on Wednesday would reduce the gap to three points ahead of Arsenal’s meeting with Liverpool, but another draw would see Guardiola equal his longest run of consecutive Premier League stalemates as City manager.
There is encouragement for the hosts in the timing of the fixture, as City have won their last 22 Premier League matches played on a Wednesday, the longest winning streak by any team on a specific weekday in the competition’s history.
Brighton, though, arrive with renewed belief after ending a difficult run of form. Fabian Hurzeler’s side ended 2025 without a win in six league matches, but a 2-0 win over Burnley at the weekend, courtesy of goals from Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari, restored some much-needed confidence.
Team news for Manchester City v Brighton
Manchester City’s defensive issues worsened against Chelsea, as both Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol were forced off with injuries that could sideline them for several weeks. City have confirmed that the latter will undergo surgery for a fractured leg.
The pair join Oscar Bobb, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Savinho, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush on the absentee list, while Nico Gonzalez remains a doubt.
Nathan Ake and Abdukodir Khusanov are expected to deputise at the back, while Erling Haaland will be keen to avoid going four consecutive Premier League starts without a goal for the first time in his career.
For Brighton, Yankuba Minteh and Mats Wieffer could return to the squad after injury, but Carlos Baleba remains unavailable due to AFCON commitments.
Solly March, Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas are still sidelined, while Danny Welbeck is unlikely to lead the line again after failing to score in nine previous league appearances at the Etihad.
Expected line-ups for Manchester City v Brighton
Manchester City: Donnarumma; Lewis, Khusanov, Ake, O’Reilly; Rodri; Cherki, Foden, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland
Brighton: Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Gomez, Ayari; Gruda, Rutter, Mitoma; Kostoulas
How to watch Manchester City v Brighton: TV channel, online live stream
Kick-off on Wednesday is at 19:30 GMT (15:30 ET / 11:30 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event.
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Streaming is available on a vast variety of devices via the Sky GO app.
The stats for Manchester City v Brighton
- Manchester City have won their last 22 Premier League matches played on a Wednesday
- City are unbeaten in 15 home league matches against Brighton
- Brighton have conceded at least two goals in each of their last three away league games
- Manchester City have drawn their last two Premier League matches
- Brighton have won just one of their last seven Premier League games
- City have scored in every home league match this season
Prediction
Manchester City
2
–
1
Brighton
Manchester City’s defensive absences suggest they may struggle to keep a resurgent Brighton at bay, but the visitors’ recent away fragility could prove costly.
Guardiola’s side should have enough attacking quality to edge a competitive contest and claim a win of significant importance in the title race, even if it comes at the expense of another nervous finish.
