Game Week 21 Predictions: Manchester City must beat Brighton

Premier League preview: Man City vs Brighton at Etihad – City chase Arsenal in title race, Haaland seeks goals, Brighton eye top-5; verdict City win.

Manchester City can cut Arsenal's lead at the top to just three points with a win over Brighton at the Etihad on Wednesday, they cannot afford to miss the opportunity. (Photo credit: Opta)

 Manchester City vs Brighton

Etihad Stadium

8:30pm

Manchester City saw a two-point deficit turn to six right before their eyes, with the latest coming in their 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea; it felt like they’d won, but a late Enzo Fernandes tap-in restored parity.

The title race is now slightly tilted towards Arsenal; the Gunners look the part this season. In how they play and in the quality of their squad, Manchester City must do better than they have managed in their last two games if they want to indeed stop the Gunners.

Brighton beat Burnley at the weekend to move into the top ten on the log; however, a win over the Cityzens in this fixture could see them as high as fifth at the end of the round, depending on how other fixtures pan out. They won’t miss this opportunity.

There’s a gulf in class between the two sides, but Manchester City cannot afford to be complacent. In the stalemate against Sunderland, the likes of Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland missed sitters; they cannot pass on opportunities against the Seagulls.

Brighton will always give you chances to score. The Seagulls’ style of play allows opponents to have shots on their goal, and this might bode well for Manchester City and Haaland, with the Cityzens’ top striker looking for his first goal in four games.

Manchester City has booked Antoine Semenyo’s medical for Thursday, as his game against Tottenham on Wednesday would be his last for the Cherries. While Pep Guardiola is reinforcing upfield, he needs to do something about his defence, where everyone is falling like flies.

How will they both approach this game? Brighton has nothing to lose. They beat the former champions in the reverse fixture earlier in the season; they will hope to do it again, but they cannot afford to leave things late like they did in September.

Yakubu Minteh will face a late fitness test after suffering a dead leg in the game against Burnley at the weekend, but Kaoru Mitoma will be available after his recent return. Carlos Baleba is still at AFCON, so we could see the returning Pascal Gross in action on Wednesday.

Manchester City will be without Joško Gvardiol and Rúben Dias, who both limped off in the stalemate against Chelsea at the Etihad. Rodri played the full 90 minutes against the Blues; it’s left to be seen if he can go that far again on Wednesday.

Verdict: City to win.