Man City vs. Brighton: How Seagulls can take advantage of City weakness in “difficult” Premier League clash

Brighton & Hove Albion have the credentials to beat an injury-hit Manchester City side in Wednesday’s Premier League encounter at the Etihad Stadium, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.

Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in their last 10 matches across all competitions, but back-to-back draws with Sunderland and Chelsea have seen them slip six points behind Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

Injury was added to insult for Man City against Chelsea, as key defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias were withdrawn in the second half before the Citizens conceded a 94th-minute equaliser in a frustrating 1-1 draw at the Etihad.

Man City have since confirmed that Gvardiol requires surgery on a tibial fracture that could see him ruled out for the rest of the season, while an update on Dias’s situation is yet to be provided by Guardiola at the time of writing.

Both defenders are joined in the treatment room by John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Savinho and Oscar Bobb, while both Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri are still away on Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Guardiola could have just 12 senior players at his disposal when Man City lock horns with Fabian Hurzeler’s side on Wednesday and is therefore unable to freshen up a Citizens team that has barely been rotated in recent weeks and is preparing for their second fixture out of nine in January.

Will Brighton exploit injury-hit and fatigued Man City side?

McInerney is concerned that Brighton - who beat Burnley 2-0 last time out and sit just three points behind the top five in the Premier League - could take advantage of Man City’s fatigue and injury situation, with a “difficult” game likely to be in store for Guardiola and co.

Speaking to Sports Mole, McInerney said: “Brighton is probably a side I wouldn't want to play right now. I know it's at home, but the collection of injuries and tired players against a side that is incredibly fit, focused and has the pace out wide of [Kaoru] Mitoma and so on...

“Brighton aren't at their best. I think the dipping in form of [Carlos] Balaba has not really helped them. They've not been quite as effective going forward, but they still have quality. [Georginio] Rutter is a good player, [Yasin] Ayari’s a decent player, he scored the other day against Burnley as well, the centre-back partnership of [Lewis] Dunk and [Jan Paul] van Hecke is impressive, and [Bart] Verbruggen] is a good keeper.

“They have got a few players missing, but they have still got experience. They can call upon the like of [Danny] Welbeck and [Milner] Milner off the bench, they've just brought Pascal Gross back as well, obviously a very experienced player, he knows what he's doing.

“Brighton are clearly a good side. They haven't been incredible this season, but they've also not been bad. They're sat right in the middle of the table and they are very established Premier League side. They've got an outside chance of pushing for European football this season still.

“I think they'll be looking forward to playing City, because this City side right now is tired, it's going to be another cold, freezing, tough night at the Etihad on Wednesday, so I can't imagine it's going to be fun to play in, but I think Brighton will be up for it, and I'm expecting a really difficult game.”

Ake, Khusanov verdict delivered before Mans City vs. Brighton

In the absence of Gvardiol, Dias and Stones, Guardiola is expected to call upon Nathan Ake and Abdukodir Khusanov to start in defence, a centre-back partnership that McInerney is not entirely convinced by ahead of City’s clash with Brighton.

Asked if he is confident that City can claim a positive result against Brighton with Ake and Khusanov at centre-back, McInerney said: “Yes and no. Not because I think the quality is lacking, I don't trust Ake to stay fit. He nearly went off for two minutes the other day (against Sunderland), and he said he felt weird.

“In terms of quality, it's sort of a textbook defence really, you'd argue. [Ake is a] left-footed experienced player, with the guile and the intelligence to read the game. Ake’s also physically good when he's not injured, and then [Khusanov is] the young pacey right-sided centre-back who can cover for maybe the lack of physicality Ake has now, given he's a little bit older.

“It's a really decent partnership on paper, it's just can you trust them? They've got probably very little chemistry together, and can you trust them to stay fit? I don't doubt that Khusanov will be fine. He had an injury a few months back, but largely he's been pretty reliable and he's a warrior, so he'll have enough quality there.”

Providing his prediction for Wednesday’s game, McInerney said: “Head and heart are very different things here. My head says another frustrating game. I don't see a City losing. My head says another draw, just because the quality on the pitch is there, it's obviously there, and it's very easy to see how City could be 2-0 or 3-0 up before it all unravels, when the tiredness kicks in.

“City could easily be 2-0 or 3-0 up at half time and that would then be enough, and even though we might concede against Brighton, we might just have enough. So my heart says a City win in this one, 3-1, or something like that. But my head - which is probably the most rational one - says a 2-2 draw.”

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