Manchester City will aim to climb back into the Premier League’s top four when they host Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The Citizens will be looking for revenge after their 2-1 defeat to the Seagulls at the Amex Stadium four months ago.
City missed the chance to leapfrog Nottingham Forest into third place last weekend, falling 1-0 at the City Ground after Callum Hudson-Odoi’s late strike. That marked their ninth league defeat this season—matching the most Pep Guardiola has ever suffered in a single campaign. A loss on Saturday would make them the first reigning champions to lose 10 times in a season since Chelsea in 2017-18.
Currently sitting fifth, two points behind Chelsea in fourth, Guardiola has labeled the final 10 league games as “finals” in their battle for Champions League qualification.
City have struggled at home recently, failing to win four of their last eight PL matches at the Etihad (W4 D1 L3). Following a 2-0 loss to Liverpool, they are now seeking to avoid back-to-back home defeats in the league for the first time since April-May 2021.
However, history is on their side—City have never lost a home game against Brighton (W12 D2), winning the last 10 in a row, the longest such streak against any opponent in their league history.
Brighton, meanwhile, are in red-hot form, winning their last six games across all competitions, including four straight in the Premier League—the longest ongoing streak in the division.
After securing an FA Cup quarter-final spot with a 2-1 extra-time win at Newcastle, the Seagulls came from behind to defeat Fulham 2-1 last weekend, with Joao Pedro netting a 98th-minute winner from the penalty spot.
