Brighton vs. Man City: “Almost certain” starter for Pep Guardiola will be “crucial” to stop Kaoru Mitoma “trickiness”

Matheus Nunes is an “almost certain” starter for Manchester City in Sunday’s Premier League clash against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.

The Portugal international is yet to start a league game for Pep Guardiola’s side in the new season; he came on as a second-half substitute in a 4-0 opening win against his former club Wolves before watching on from the bench in City’s 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham last weekend.

Nunes was signed by City as a midfielder in 2023, but he has transitioned into a makeshift right-back since the turn of the year and now finds himself battling for starts in defence with Rico Lewis.

Man City’s high defensive line - one viewed by many as having a lack of pace - often steps up at the last moment in an attempt to catch opponents offside, but that was countered by Spurs last weekend as they attacked down both flanks to great effect.

Guardiola’s side are now preparing for what could prove to be a “real big test” against a Brighton outfit who regularly play with wingers, including star dribbler Kaoru Mitoma, who scored a joint-high 10 Premier League goals for the Seagulls last season.

McInerney believes that the pace of Nunes at right-back will be “crucial” in helping Man City quell the trickery of Mitoma on the left flank.

Man City will “definitely prefer the pace of Nunes” in Brighton clash

“I'm almost certain we'll see the pace of Matheus Nunes at right-back,” McInerney told Sports Mole. “I think City's defensive line against Spurs [required] a bit more pace.

“I just can't help but feel if [Abdukodir] Khusanov and Nunes were on the pitch, maybe that first goal doesn't happen with their recovery pace.”

Asked if Mitoma versus whoever starts at right-back for City could be one of the key battles in Sunday’s contest, McInerney said: “Absolutely. Mitoma will absolutely give Rico Lewis a hard time.

“I like Rico Lewis, but he's going to have a hard time and I think [Guardiola] will definitely prefer the pace of Nunes because you've got to keep up with him.

“Brighton are going to be so aware of our high line. A lot of people are making a lot of noise about City’s high line at the moment. I don't know why. We've been playing the high line forever, but for some reason it's an issue this season.

“Maybe it’s because the defence looks a bit slower. But either way, I think Nunes is going to get a start in this one. I think his pace will be absolutely crucial against the trickiness of Mitoma. He’s always given City an awful lot of trouble”.

Cherki, Bobb benched, Bernardo recalled to “pragmatic side”

McInerney is also expecting both Rayan Cherki and Oscar Bobb to drop out of Man City’s starting lineup this weekend, with Guardiola predicted to rotate and revert to a “more pragmatic side”.

He said: “I am expecting changes. I think we will see a more pragmatic side than the one that played against Spurs. I don't think it'll be Cherki starting.

“Guardiola will probably lean on Nico Gonzalez and Bernardo [Silva] - Bernardo had a stinker when he came on [against Spurs] but I thought he was good against Wolves - and Guardiola will probably lean on [Tijjani] Reijnders as well, those three in midfield.

“Who knows? Maybe Rodri has a decent chance, because Rodri came on the other day and he's looking fitter and fitter. Phil Foden's also in with a chance of starting I reckon, potentially.

“I wouldn't be surprised to see Oscar Bobb rotated in this one. Just my guts telling me that. He did nothing wrong really against Spurs, but I just got a feeling there might be a rotation there, and Guardiola might lean on experience.

“There'll be changes. I don't know who's going to play, but there will be changes almost certainly. I think that's par for the course really when you've got this many players, this many new faces and it's this early on in the season.”

Man City “reaction” expected against Brighton after Spurs defeat

Following a disappointing performance against Spurs last time out, McInerney is expecting a reaction from Man City at the Amex, but Brighton have a number of key players who could cause them problems.

“I think we're sort of built to play away a bit more at the moment. I think it suits us,” said McInerney. “Spurs were incredibly aggressive (at pressing) and I think it really helped them.

“I think that Spurs game was a lesson that City needed anyway very early on as a reminder of the standards of the Premier League. They've had just over a week to work on it which is really good as well. Guardiola will love that preparation time.

“I'm expecting a bit of a reaction against Brighton. I don't see why you wouldn't really expect that given the Wolves game showed what we could do and the Spurs game showed what we need to work on still. You can learn an awful lot with the right mentality from a game like the Spurs one.

“I expect City will be treating Brighton with everything they've taken from that, because Brighton are a cracking side at their best. I know they haven't had the best start - a disappointing loss against Everton and only a draw against Fulham - but they still have quality.

“Mitoma has always given City troubles and obviously they've lost Joao Pedro and Evan Ferguson. They've both gone off and scored goals for their new clubs, but they've still got the experience of [Danny] Welbeck, who's a very good Premier League striker and the aggression of [Carlos] Baleba and [Matt] O'Reilly in midfield is going to give you trouble.

“The experience of [Lewis] Dunk and [Jan Paul] van Hecke as a partnership is really good, so they've got an awful lot of quality. I expect City will be very much aware of what Brighton can do and how they're going to play. This is going to be a real big test for whoever's in goal (James Trafford or Ederson).”

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