Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion 31/08/19

31 August 2019

Manchester City will look to post their fifth consecutive Premier League (PL) over Brighton & Hove Albion when the two sides face off at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

Although the hosts won two of the opening three PL games this term (W2, D1) none of those wins has come at home. The Citizens’ impressive nine-game PL home winning streak has been brought to a halt with a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the matchday two. It was also the first time that City allowed over 1.5 goals per home league fixture since a 3-2 loss to Crystal Palace back in December 2018. But, untenable when at Etihad, the reigning PL champions have found the net in all ten of their PL home games since the turn of the year, netting 2+ match goals seven times in the process. Moreover, Pep Guardiola’s men have outplayed Brighton in all three of their previous competitive H2Hs here, preventing the Seagulls from scoring twice along the way.

On the other hand, after a strong start to the season that has seen them beat Watford 3-0 away from home, the visitors have lost momentum, failing to pick up a win in the two subsequent PL games (D1, L1). Both of those fixtures have featured under 2.5 goals with Brighton struggling to find the net in the first half on both occasions. Brighton’s struggle when away from home has seen them secure just two triumphs in ten PL trips since the turn of the year (W2, D3, L5). While both of their wins in that sequence witnessed the Seagulls score 2+ match goals, four of their defeats in the same period have seen them concede multiple goals.