Brighton vs Man City – Premier League – Live score, team news and updates as Pep Guardiola’s side go in search of win that would close the gap to league leaders Arsenal

Matt Barlow, Mail Sport, at the Amex Stadium:

Interesting one in the Brighton line up… Valentin Barco, 19 -year-old Argentine signed from Boca Juniors for £7.8m in January makes his first Premier League start.

No major absentees in the City team bar Erling Haaland.

They will probably turn more to Phiol Fofden and a certain Kevin de Bruyne in the striker’s absence.

De Bruyne loves life away from the Etihad, seven of his nine Premier League goal involvements this season have come in his six away appearances.

Can he grab any more tonight?

Oooh, I was so close!

Pep Guardiola does make changes, three in fact, just one less than the four I predicted.

He hasn’t done anything crazy though, Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol come in to replace John Stones and Jack Grealish in the starting 11.

Ederson also returns back in goal in place of Stefan Ortega.

Brighton’s goalkeeper merry-go-round is back in full flow.

Jason Steele is preferred in net, replacing Bert Verburggen who looked like he had become the first choice.

Roberto De Zerbi also makes two more changes with Adam Lallana and Valentin Barco coming in.

Adam Webster returns from injury to make the bench.

The fans are starting to descend on the Amex.

Look at those Manchester City fans, they all look very happy. The man on the right looks like he has a love for Erling Haaland going by his hat. Unfortunately for him, he won’t see him tonight.

But who will he see up front instead?

It’s been well-documented that Manchester City love a title run-in.

They specifically come into their own during April, they are on an 11-game winning streak in the league during the month.

To prove their dominance during this month even further, City have won 22 of their last 24 League fixtures in this month. This is a crazy statistic.

It’s not the time of year you want to be playing them.

I remember watching this hit the back of the net, my jaw dropped.

Last May, the two sides played out a 1-1 draw, and Julio Enciso unleashed an absolute Thundercracker to earn the hosts a point.

The goal ended up winning the Premier League Goal of the Season award and also came second in the FIFA Puskas award.

Could he pull this out of the bag again? I highly doubt it.

Pep Guardiola, Manchester City boss, speaking on Wednesday:

I have huge admiration (for Roberto De Zerbi) and it is growing every season. They had a lot of problems, important players were sold like Colwill, Caicedo, Mac Allister.

They have a lot of injuries and play three competitions but the way they play is always there. He is doing an incredible job at Brighton.

The Brighton defenders would have been delighted when they heard this news.

Erling Haaland will not feature tonight, as confirmed by Pep Guardiola in his press conference on Wednesday day.

It’s a major blow for City to lose the league’s joint top scorer when they are embroiled in a fierce title race, but they have plenty of other firepower to call upon.

It will be interesting to see what Pep Guardiola decides to do. He loves to surprise us.

Roberto De Zerbi must be making a long team talk because Brighton arrived at the Amex some time ago.

I wonder what they do in the hours before the warm-ups? I’m assuming there will be lots of meetings.

Either way, the players certainly look excited for tonight’s action.

The Amex is looking rather peaceful right now.

It certainly won’t be later, I have a feeling the stadium will be bouncing by the time kick-off rolls around.

If Brighton are to take any points off of Manchester City tonight, they will need their fans to create a strong atmosphere.

As Roberto De Zerbi said, night games do bring them.

Roberto De Zerbi, Brighton boss, speaking on Wednesday:

I love playing in the night because there is a different atmosphere. I think our fans have been fantastic every game at the Amex and away. If we start the game with good attitude and right behaviour the fans can understand and support more.

Brighton are the type of team that can hurt the big-hitters in the Premier League.

During Roberto De Zerbi’s reign, they have beaten the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Man United, and Tottenham, but they are yet to beat Manchester City. To be fair, not many people do.

If tonight’s encounter was being played at the Etihad, it would be tough to see the Seagulls getting anything, but it’s not, it’s at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton have only lost twice at home all season, against West Ham in August and then Arsenal earlier this month. They love the home comforts.

However, their form of late is not the best, they are winless in their last four matches.

They will need to bring their A-game if they are to cause City problems.

Arsenal fans, I wouldn’t get your hopes up tonight.

Manchester City love a goal or two away at Brighton, and that’s and understatement. Pep Guardiola’s side have scored 18 goals in their six Premier League visits to the Amex Stadium.

I remember when they came from 1-0 down on the final day of the 2018-19 season, to win 5-1. The Gunners will be hoping they don’t do that today.

Put it this way, I’m pretty confident this one won’t end 0-0.

Last night, the dynamic of the title race changed once again.

This season has seen one of the most enthralling battles for the Premier League that we have seen in the last three decades or so. The three-horse race has been gripping.

Well, it seems we have now lost one of the riders. Last night, Liverpool’s hopes were left in tatters by their bitter rivals Everton at Goodison Park. They were bullied and well beaten by the Toffees.

That, alongside their 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace, the Reds’ title charge seems all but over, which leaves us with two horses remaining.

Unlike Liverpool, Arsenal enhanced their title credentials this week with a 5-0 thumping of rivals Chelsea. They are going to fight for glory until the end.

Now it’s time to see how Manchester City fare in what has proved to be a pivotal week in the title race.

They normally thrive.

It feels like a lifetime since Manchester City played in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s side love this time of year, they are made for it. When the pressure is on, they usually deliver, and the pressure is on tonight.

City travel to Brighton needing to win to stay in control of the title race. If they do so, they will sit just one point behind Arsenal with a game in hand.

Tonight, they do not have an easy task though, they face a Brighton side who caused them problems in this very fixture last year, and don’t cower into their shells when facing the big sides.

Both sides like to hold the ball, both sides are aggressive, and both sides like to go on the front foot.

Do you want to know what that sounds like to me? A recipe for a sensational match.

Fancy some more Premier League action? Of course, you do!

Once again, it’s a huge evening in the title race. It feels like every day there is a match that can affect it. It was definitely affected last night.

After Everton’s victory over Liverpool last night, it feels like we are down to a two-horse race between Manchester City and Arsenal, with the former in action this evening.

Pep Guardiola’s side sit four points behind leaders Arsenal, but they have two games in hand over Mikel Arteta’s side. The first of those comes tonight against Brighton.

If City want to keep their destiny in their own hands, they can’t afford to slip up tonight against Roberto De Zerbi’s side. If they do, Arsenal fans will be beaming.

Right, let’s get this show on the road.