Manchester City vs. Brighton Predictions: Two bets as City look to get back to winning ways on Wednesday

Man City host Brighton in the Premier League on Wednesday, and could go into the game in second place, should Liverpool beat Man Utd on Tuesday night. We’ve asked our resident City ultra, @petemarsden_, to preview the game for us.

We’re really into the pivotal part of the season now aren’t we? I’m going to be honest, looking at the points lead we had coming into February, I thought City were more or less home and dry in regards to the title race, but fair play to Liverpool, who have shown tremendous form over the last few months.

City come into this game in strange form, without a win in three, although one of those games saw them qualify against Atletico Madrid. Since the start of March Pep’s men have played 11 games in all competitions, only winning on five occasions. Still, at the time of writing, they hold a slender lead over Liverpool in the table, but will look to win on Wednesday night regardless of what happens at Anfield.

It’s safe to say that Brighton are well and truly on the proverbial beach. Sitting pretty in 10th in the table, their last five league games have seen them win twice, draw once, and lose on the other two occasions. Pep Guardiola knows he must not take this game likely however, and as he is a keen admirer of Graham Potter’s work, there’s no doubt he’s probably overthinking the game in that big bald head of his.

I’ve dived into the betting markets, and tried to pull out two value picks for the game at the Etihad.

First off, we’re looking at Raheem Sterling to score on Wednesday night. It’s so difficult to predict just who Pep is going to pick in his front three, so we’ve got two backups just in case, (Mahrez, 6/5 with 365, or Grealish, 13/5 with BetVictor).

Sterling hasn’t had his most prolific season, and will most likely be disappointed with just 14 goals in all comps, with 10 coming in the league. With just three goals in his last nine league games, all coming in the same fixture, Sterling will be looking to impress as he’ll hope to play a key part in the run-in.

Sterling has a decent record against Brighton, having scored four in seven games against them, assisting on one other occasion. It’s worth noting that Sterling has also won all seven games against the visitors, and his runs in behind should create plenty of chances for a City side who will look to put out a statement.

Next up, I’m thinking there’ll be plenty of goals at the Stade de Etihad on Wednesday. There have been five goals in three of the last four games between these two sides, with City and Brighton both winning 3-2 respectively in the last two meetings. With Brighton often refusing to shut up shop, and Graham Potter’s desire to play his own brand of football, this fixture is regularly an open affair!

I’m expecting chances at both ends, with City again looking to lay down a marker here. When it comes towards the end of the season with the home side facing teams who don’t have anything to play for, the blues often put on a show, with a 5-0 win over Everton last season, and a 5-0 at home against Watford and Norwich the season before.

Good luck if you’re following these bets, and please gamble responsibly.