Exhilarating Brighton now wants to compound misery on leaders Manchester City after a sensational week of beating Arsenal and Tottenham in back to back games in their own backyard.
Manchester City will be desperate to get back to their usual flow amid fitness concerns in the squad after a disappointing defeat against title challengers Liverpool in the FA Cup.
MCI vs BHA Match Details :
Date: Wednesday 20 April 2022/ Thursday 21 April 2022
Time: 20:00 (BST)/ 00:30 (IST)
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
MCI vs BHA Match Preview :
Pep Guardiola made a host of changes to the starting eleven that was exhausted in the emotionally strangled 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid but paid the price of the changes in the FA Cup semifinal. Liverpool put up a dominating first half and went 3-0 up against the side lacking Kyle Walker and De Bruyne to kill off the tie despite conceding twice at the end. It was understandable for Guardiola to make those changes but forcing too much especially not playing Ederson in goal cost them more. However, the Spaniard has himself indicated the Premier League to be his utmost priority with the Champions League so the prize lost in that competition won't matter much. Even if it was against a title rival. The squad will be stocked for the league games so the ones that should have come off the bench will return in the starting eleven on Wednesday. City knows they can't afford any experiment in this contest with just a point lead over Liverpool in the battle for the Premier League title. In favour of them, they begin a calendar carrying relatively winnable fixtures aside from the double legged semifinal in Europe. However, Brighton is full of surprises as learnt recently.
Losing six games in a row in a disastrous period and then a goalless draw over Norwich, Brighton were dampened in confidence but then a 2-1 victory away at Arsenal helped them refigure themselves. If that was not all, they went on to beat their North London counterpart Tottenham in another game through a late 1-0 winner from Trossard. These wins proved fatal for the two clubs as they are both locked in the neck in neck battles for the Champions League places. It has left everyone to speculate whether the Seagulls could cause a major upset again in snatching points out of Manchester City to add more spice in the closely contested title chase, giving Liverpool the ultimate favour. Manager Graham Potter is reluctant to get carried away by saying there is never a good time to face Man City despite the team enduring some injury concerns and losing in FA Cup. Their dismal record against the opposition is problematic. Still, Potter knows his team is in a good run of form and defeating two of the top six has uplifted their spirits. Those wins have added more reputation for Potter as he continues to be admired by the wealthy clubs. A win against City in the third away game for Brighton can't be spelt in words of the genius they have on the touchline.
Recent Form :
Man City: LDDWW
Brighton: WWDLL
MCI vs BHA Team News :
Kyle Walker remains doubtful for the clash after picking up an ankle injury that kept him out in the defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup semifinal. So is Gabriel Jesus after picking up a knock in the game. Kevin de Bruyne has recovered from a slight issue that kept him on the bench on Saturday and is fit to feature back in the league. Ruben Dias is likely to start the game after a month and a half out due to a hamstring injury.
Graham Potter said his team has recovered well following two incredible wins and everyone has trained normally. Steven Alzate has been in training after his illness. Yves Bissouma is suspended for the clash. Jakub Moder is out for the season with a cruciate ligament injury.
MCI vs BHA Expected Lineups :
Man City: Ederson; Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ikay Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling
Brighton: Robert Sanchez; Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk, Marc Cucurella, Tariq Lamptey, Moises Caicedo, Adam Lallana, Pascal Gross, Leandro Trossard, Enock Mwepu, Mac Allister
MCI vs BHA Head to Head :
Manchester City have a handsome record over Brighton since their promotion to the Premier League in 2017. They have lost only once and won the rest in the nine games so far. The two met early in the season last year at Amex where Pep Guardiola's men ran 1-4 winners. In four games at Etihad, Brighton have never kept a clean sheet and managed to find the back of the net only once.
MCI vs BHA Dream11 Team Prediction :
GK: Ederson (8.5)
DEF: Cancelo (9.5), Dunk (8.5), Laporte (9.5), Cucurella (9)
MID: B.Silva (9.5), Mwepu (8.5), Rodri (9), Gundogan (9), Trossard (9)
FW: Foden (9.5)
