Brighton host the Premier League champions in the first of their 2024/25 meetings, here is a preview.
Brighton lock horns with Manchester City in what promises to be a spectacular game of football, as the title chasers travel to the South Coast in search of maximum points.
City goes there as favourites as they are unbeaten in their last six games against Brighton, with five wins in that period.
The Seagulls had a testing campaign in 2024/25 as continuous injuries and a dramatic drop in form led to uncertainty over Roberto De Zerbi’s future. Brighton were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League in the Round of 16 by Roma in a 4–1 aggregate loss and ultimately missed out on European football as they finished 11th in the league.
Fabian Hurzeler took charge of the team over the summer, and the youngest manager ever in the Premier League has led them to an impressive start. They beat Everton 3-0 in their opening game, followed by a home win against Manchester United and an away draw at Arsenal which earned Hurzeler the Premier League Manager of the Month award for August.
Back-to-back draws against Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest led to their first setback when Cole Palmer single-handedly destroyed Brighton thanks to his four-goal haul in the 4-2 defeat at Chelsea.
They must keep the momentum of their good performances so far this term, but there is a big test against City whom they have lost 11 of their previous 13 Premier League encounters.
Pertinently, the only two times that City have failed to beat the Seagulls in the Premier League came at the AMEX Stadium. They will be hoping for more of the same having already beaten Man United and taken a point away at Arsenal this term.
There have been concerns over how Brighton defend with a very high defensive line and they must be wary of City’s attacking threat, especially in the shape of Erling Haaland, the league’s leading marksman.
Pep Guardiola’s men have begun the season with impeccable gusto as they look towards a fifth consecutive league title.
After lifting the Community Shield, the first three league fixtures against Chelsea, Ipswich Town, and West Ham were won comfortably without the help of Rodri and Phil Foden. Man City beat Brentford, drew with Inter Milan in the Champions League and they were seconds away from defeat in an eventful outing against Arsenal until John Stones’ equalizer.
However, greater damage was already done as they lost Rodri to a season-ending ACL injury in the first half. Another draw followed against Newcastle and the Cityzens must get back on track or risk the likes of Arsenal or Liverpool opening up a gap at the top of the table.
The season is finally in full flow and City must utilize the raft of quality players in their squad to sustain their challenge in all competitions. They are familiar with coping with rivals who want to wrestle their title from them, but Guardiola’s biggest task is motivating this team of serial winners to get over the line.
Match tickets
This Premier League Matchday 11 encounter is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 9 November 2024 and it all kicks off at 6:30 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on each club’s website with season ticket holders and club members getting priority consideration.
Brighton are hosting this fixture in their spectacular arena and the AMEX Stadium is set to be sold out when the Premier League champions of the last four years come to town. More than 31,000 spectators are expected to be in attendance and none of the home fans will be willing to miss this one.
This is likely to be the hottest ticket in town as the game draws near, so supporters must secure their match tickets well ahead of time. We urge fans looking for Brighton vs Man City tickets to purchase their copy on a resale site.
Team news
Solly March and Matt O’Riley are long-term absentees for the Seagulls who are also missing the likes of Joao Pedro, Jan Paul van Hecke and James Milner. The latter three should be fit for the City game and Brighton will be glad to have most of their key players for this one.
City have confirmed that influential midfielder Rodri will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury while Oscar Bobb is also out due to a long-term issue. Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake are sidelined at the time of writing but they should be fine against Brighton.
Line-ups
Hurzeler is having a massive imprint on his Brighton squad as they remain one of the brightest attacking sides in the league. The German is playing a dynamic brand of football as his team gets to grips with his philosophy, but they must be at their best to get a result against City.
The backline led by Lewis Dunk must do a job on Haaland but stopping the Norwegian is easier said than done. Hence, Brighton will hope to outscore their opponents to have any hopes of winning.
Brighton: Verbruggen; Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Baleba, Hinshelwood; Adingra, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck
City have the best squad in the league and Guardiola has the luxury of choosing from a fantastic group of players. One of them is Phil Foden who has scored a career-high six goals against Brighton, and the Englishman is one to keep an eye on in this game.
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Lewis; Silva, Gundogan, Doku; Haaland
Prediction
Expect goals in this one as both teams have scored in three of the last four meetings between Brighton and Man City. It is certainly a game of attack vs attack and quality should shine through.
City will be delighted to face such a high defensive line and they will be focused on punishing the Seagulls at will. This game certainly favours the champions, and you can’t see past them coming out on top.
Brighton 1-3 Man City