Brighton vs Man City Prediction, Odds and Betting Tips: Back this 25/1 shot on Saturday evening

Saturday’s evening kick-off comes from the South Coast as Brighton host reigning Premier League champions Manchester City at the AMEX. Our resident Brighton fan Matthew O’Regan previews the game with bets at 10/11 and 25/1.

Brighton are embarking on a new era under German manager Fabian Hurzeler and have had a bright start to the season, losing just twice in the league. The Seagulls’ two defeats came in strong displays at Chelsea and Liverpool. Brighton have also beaten Manchester United, Newcastle and Tottenham, as well as drawing away at Arsenal.  

Their games have certainly not been short of drama, averaging 3.1 goals. Of their home games, only the 0-0 draw with Ipswich saw Both Teams To Score not land, thanks to strong performances from Bart Verbruggen and Arijanet Muric in the net.  

Brighton have had some tricky games at home to City since promotion to the Premier League: losing 1-4, 0-5, 1-4 and 0-4 over the years. However, they will take solace from their comeback 3-2 win in 2021 and their visitors mini-slump. 

Manchester City have looked shaky in their title defence but still sit two points off leaders Liverpool – a testament to their quality. 2-1 away losses to Tottenham (cup) and Bournemouth (league) were followed up by a 4-1 loss at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, so Pep Guardiola will be keen to restore some form before the international break.  

If he is to get a result against a confident Brighton, their defence will have to improve, with his side keeping just one clean sheet on their league travels this year.  

Both sides have a host of injuries to contend with. James Milner, Adam Webster and Solly March are confirmed absentees, while Joao Pedro, Lewis Dunk, Matt O’Riley, Yankuba Minteh, Yasin Ayari and Carlos Baleba are ‘touch and go’.

Manchester City have looked vulnerable on their travels in recent weeks, conceding 10 goals in their last three losses. A constant disruption of their backline has meant that Guardiola has found it hard to name a settled defence this season. 

Teams have noticed a slight weakness in the City defence so tend to be more open and expansive as they chase a positive result. It worked for Bournemouth who were able to get a win, and it almost yielded a positive result for Brentford and Fulham at the Etihad.  

Brighton will take confidence from these displays and attack the visitors from the off. In the Premier League, Ederson has made an average of 2.3 saves this season but this number increases away from home (2.6). 

Attacking football is engrained in the Seagulls’ DNA, with new manager Fabian Hürzeler epitomising this. Brighton are averaging 15.40 shots per game. They are drawing an average of 3.46 saves per game, with recent games against Newcastle, Wolves and Liverpool x2 seeing 4,4,5 and 4 saves.

Brighton’s pursuit of Ferdi Kadioglu dragged on all summer but were finally rewarded, adding the talented Turk to their repertoire. While injury hampered his chances early in the season, he has broken into the team and impressed.  

His versatility is key to breaking into the team with the 25-year-old capable of playing right back, left back, centre midfield and on the wing. While he started playing full back he has since moved to a more advanced right-wing role.  

In a ten minute cameo off the bench against Wolves in the cup, he scored, while also spurning a great chance when moved further forward away at Newcastle. In the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool, Kadioglu scored the opener and was also inches away from making it two.  

Due to Josko Gvardiol being more advanced at left back, his direct opponents are presented with more space in behind. Kadioglu should make the most of it with his pace and looks a huge price to score yet again.

Brighton vs Man City Lineups

The starting lineups for Brighton vs Man City will be displayed in the graphic below once the team news has been announced.