Overview
Brighton and Manchester City have just gone through a disappointing round of the Premier League. They have both lost in games that have been rated much higher, against Everton and Tottenham.
The immediate opportunity for both is to quickly get up, if they do not want to enter their first international break with a heavy mood.
The familiar story repeated for Brighton when they controlled the game but wasted too many opportunities. The Seagulls are fourth in the Premier League for expected goals (xG) with 3.91, but have only scored once.
They also ranked second in the number of completed passes on home soil (503), but only ranked 15th when considering the opponent's field (282).
Notably, the two most passing players in the league so far have both belonged to Brighton: Lewis Dunk - Jan Paul van Hecke (119 passes) and Dunk - goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen (65). That partly reflects their ball control style of play towards their home field.
In last week's loss to Everton - their first official match at Hill Dickinson - Brighton missed three clear chances, including two from Danny Welbeck.
To get points against Man City, Fabian Hurzeler and his team are likely to have to rely on the defense instead of the attack. And the most prominent name is Mats Wieffer.
Assigned as a right-back, the Dutch international has made 12 tackles - the most in the Premier League to date. Among the players who played over 500 minutes for Brighton, he had the most impressive defensive performance.
Meanwhile, it is difficult to predict exactly what Man City are waiting for at the moment. The easy victory over Wolves in the opening round seemed to signal a new version of The Citizens, escaping the erratic image of last season. But the old problems immediately came to light in the defeat to Tottenham last weekend at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola's team easily made mistakes in defense, often being penetrated in midfield and lacking breakthroughs in the final area. More worryingly, they gradually became less dangerous when they were placed in a chasing position, failing to create any real threat in the second half.
The burden of scoring continued to fall on Erling Haaland's shoulders, as Man City did not have a stable attacking advantage from both wings. The match against Brighton also marked the Norwegian striker's 100th Premier League appearance.
The Citizens hope Phil Foden can regain the form that helped him win the PFA Best Player of the Year award in the 2023-2024 season, after his role was significantly overshadowed last season. Although he only came off the bench against Spurs, Foden is likely to be considered a starting forward by Guardiola after the international break.
Amex Stadium is a promised land for the English star. Foden has scored six goals in six Premier League visits to Brighton - a tally with Mohamed Salah, who has also scored six goals there.
In total, 8 goals against the Seagulls made Brighton Foden's favorite "victim" in the English top flight.
Head-to-head record
From 2017 2018 to 2023-2024, Brighton have only escaped defeat in 2 of their 14 Premier League meetings with Man City (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss 12). However, last season, the Seagulls were unbeaten against the former champions, winning 2-1 at home and drawing 2-2 at the Etihad.
Overall, Man City still dominated the league, winning 19/30 matches against Brighton (6.3%). Of the 46 opponents they have met over 25 times, only Swansea City have a higher winning percentage (23/34 matches, 67.6%).
Another interesting detail: Guardiola has never won in both of his Premier League meetings with Hurzeler. When Guardiola debuted as Barcelona head coach in 2008, Hurzeler was only 15 years old.
In his top-flight career, Ronald Koeman remains the only manager to keep Guardiola winless after three encounters (2 draws, 1 loss).
The match between Brighton and Man City takes place at 20:00 on August 31 (Vietnam time).
