Manchester City will entertain Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday hoping to build on their victories against Cardiff City and Oxford United respectively. The Citizens are in a rich vein of form going forward while they have also kept things solid defensively after their 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Lyon last week. Pep Guardiola would now expect his players to get a routine home win versus the Seagulls as they look to ramp up the pressure on Liverpool and Chelsea, who would face each other this weekend, in a top of the Premier League table clash.
The Man City manager is expected to stick with his 4-3-3 formation and could make a whole host of changes to his side for this league game against Brighton.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Brighton And Hove Albion
Defence
Ederson is the only senior shot-stopper at Guardiola’s disposal so it’s a no-brainer that he would start against the Seagulls while the youngster, Arijanet Muric would play second-fiddle to the Brazilian goalie on the City bench.
The duo of Aymeric Laporte and Vincent Kompany could lineup in central defence while Kyle Walker should resume his responsibilities at right-back. Fabian Delph would operate as a makeshift left-back. Benjamin Mendy will not be involved against Brighton as he is still recovering from his injury.
The Citizens have kept back to back clean sheets in their last two outings following their defeat at the hands of Lyon in the UEFA Champions League. Guardiola’s defenders would go into this encounter with a lot of confidence about continuing their good defensive run on Saturday.
Midfield
The trio of David Silva, Fernandinho and Bernardo Silva might play at the centre of the pitch with the Brazilian veteran operating as a deep-lying holding midfielder while the other two looks to facilitate some opportunities for their teammates in the final third.
Bernardo Silva got his name on the scoresheet against Cardiff City last weekend, and so he would be a significant threat to the Seagulls defence on Saturday.
Attack
The Citizens could opt to start with a front three comprised of Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane up top. All three players are looking to nail down a permanent starting berth in Guardiola’s first XI so they would have a lot to prove versus Chris Hughton’s men going forward.
Both Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane might come off the bench to feature in the game if required.
