Manchester City vs Brighton preview

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Manchester City vs Brighton in the Premier League.

Team news

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed both Gabriel Jesus and John Stones were "much better" after recovering from injuries but that they are still doubts for Saturday's game. The City manager suggested Joao Cancelo could earn his first start, but may be on the bench again ahead of the international break.

It's as you were for Brighton, with manager Graham Potter saying: "We have no new injury concerns after Tuesday [in the Carabao Cup] and we're fit and ready to go." Jurgen Locadia will not feature after joining Hoffenheim on a season-long loan on Thursday.

How to watch

Follow the action with our dedicated live blog. Highlights of the game will be published at 5.15pm on the Sky Sports website and app plus the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.

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Opta stats

• Manchester City have won their last five games against Brighton in all competitions, winning all four league games in the previous two seasons and an FA Cup semi-final in April 2019.
• Brighton have never won a league match away at City in nine attempts (W0 D2 L7), losing each of their last five in a row.
• Manchester City have gone 17 Premier League games unbeaten since a 1-2 defeat to Newcastle in January, taking 49 points from a possible 51 in that run (W16 D1 L0).
• Manchester City have won 16 of their last 17 Premier League games kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday, with the only exception in that run being a 2-3 home loss against Crystal Palace in December 2018.
• Sergio Aguero has scored in all three of his Premier League games against Brighton, scoring with all three of his shots on target.
• Raheem Sterling has scored five Premier League goals this season (joint-most with Teemu Pukki) - only Edin Dzeko (6 in 2011) and Chris Sutton (6 in 1997) have netted more in August in a single year.
• Brighton manager Graham Potter faced Manchester City in the FA Cup last season as Swansea boss - despite taking a 2-0 lead, they lost 2-3 and were eliminated at the quarter-final stage.

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Charlie Nicholas' prediction

I just hope that Graham Potter has a plan A, plan B, and plan C at the ready for this one. Do you sit in and hurt them from set-pieces? Where do they pitch? Where do they put their back five? You do not want to give them pockets of space.

Manchester City interchange, fly down the wing with pace, Kevin De Bruyne does this, David Silva does that. What formation do they play? They play football and they enjoy it, that's why you need different plans.

I don't see anything but pain here for Brighton. Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero are frightening, with De Bruyne in full swing now too. I am sure De Bruyne could be the best ever at City, better than the rest. If you want a game with lots of goals and smiles, this is your game.

CHARLIE PREDICTS: 5-0 (9/1 with Sky Bet)

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