Man City suffered a defeat at the hands of Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday but they will have to get straight back up and refocus.
Next up, they take on Brighton in a midweek Premier League fixture and by the time they take on the Seagulls, Pep’s side could lose their top spot on the league table.
Liverpool play Manchester United on Tuesday night and if the Reds win that match then Liverpool will temporarily move to the 1st position. City should be the favourites to win against Brighton and reclaim their throne but the Cityzens will be without some key players and this might once again destabilize Guardiola’s starting lineup.
Man City are undefeated in 20 of their last 21 matches in the Premier League and the loss to Liverpool this past weekend could be a slight hindrance for them. The City players looked very fatigued on Saturday and this could be a problem in midweek as well. While Brighton have the ammunitions to exploit this to a certain extent but we doubt if they can pick up anything from this match.
Man City team news vs Brighton:
Ruben Dias has returned from his injury but in the previous two matches, he has been fit enough to only start on the bench. The defender though should come back into the starting line up.
If Dias is coming back then John Stones will move to the bench.
Kyle Walker is ruled out with an ankle injury and against Liverpool, Pep Guardiola chose to bring in Zinchenko on the left-hand side of defence with Cancelo replacing Walker.
In this match though, Nathan Ake should play as the right-back meaning Joao Cancelo will move to the opposite side.
Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan were on the bench against Liverpool but neither of them got any game time. The duo were reportedly not fit enough to play but against Brighton they should be coming back into the side.
Foden and Fernandinho were both overwhelming on Saturday so they will likely be moving to the bench.
Grealish scored vs Liverpool while Gabriel Jesus provided an assist but only one of them will get a chance to start in midweek. The Man City boss has to rest and rotate his players and since Jesus has started two games on the trot, he is likely to be the one who will be sacrificed.
Man City predicted line up vs Brighton(4-3-3):
Goalkeeper: Ederson.
Defence: Ruben Dias, Laporte, Nathan Ake, Cancelo.
Midfield: Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva.
Attack: Jack Grealish, Sterling, Riyad Mahrez.
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Stats via Fotmob