English Premier
2026-01-07 - Manchester City vs Brighton
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Wednesday 7th January 2025 - Kick Off 7:30pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester City
The charges levelled at Manchester City by the Premier League have yet to be resolved and this has allowed Pep Guardiola's team to continue splurging the cash whenever it is needed. Over the coming days Antoine Semenyo is set to join Manchester City as they look to close in on title rivals Arsenal, while a defensive injury crisis has the club thinking about making a move for Marc Guehi in the January transfer window.
A late goal was conceded on Sunday afternoon and a wasteful display from Manchester City was ultimately punished as they dropped to 6 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. We are only in early January so there is plenty of football yet to be played, but Manchester City will be very keen to improve the 8-1-1 record at the Etihad Stadium and close that gap to Arsenal before the latter face Liverpool twenty-four hours later.
Manchester City have been able to extend the unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions, but consecutive Premier League draws with Sunderland and Chelsea have slowed momentum. The late equaliser allowed against Chelsea snapped a run of 4 straight home wins for Pep Guardiola's team.
Josko Gvardiol has suffered a serious looking injury and is set to be out for weeks at the very least, while Ruben Dias is also a doubt. The likes of Nico Gonzalez and John Stones are expected to miss out and Nathan Ake is having minutes restricted.
Brighton
There is every reason to believe this season will end with European Football for Brighton, but Fabian Hurzeler will be hoping his squad can steer clear of injury and find a bit more consistency. The 2-0 win over Burnley has seen Brighton open 2026 in the manner they would have wanted, but this is a much sterner test for the team.
The Seagulls are back up into 10th place in the Premier League table, but there is very little between teams in the middle of the standings and so the focus has to be on just putting a strong streak of positive results together. They will be taking a 2-3-5 away record to this part of the North West for another Premier League fixture before the FA Cup Third Round weekend.
Brighton had not won any of 6 Premier League games to lose some ground and momentum, but they ended that sequence at the Amex Stadium on Saturday. The away form has been a little more erratic and Brighton had lost consecutive fixtures at Liverpool and Arsenal before the 2-2 draw at West Ham United.
Yankuba Minteh missed out a few days ago, but is hoping to travel along with Mats Wieffer.
Head to Head
Brighton came from behind to beat Manchester City 2-1 at the Amex Stadium earlier this season.
Manchester City had won 10 in a row when hosting Brighton, but failed to hold onto the lead twice in a 2-2 draw in March 2025.
Prediction
Two more points were dropped on Sunday afternoon and Pep Guardiola cannot have been very happy with some of the poor composure shown by his talented forward line.
Manchester City had gotten into strong positions with the lead over Chelsea, but failed to put the visitors to bed and ultimately were punished when conceding very late on in the 1-1 draw.
All of a sudden there is a 6 point gap between Manchester City and Premier League leaders Arsenal, but the focus on Wednesday is to make sure they halve that twenty-four hours before Arsenal host Liverpool.
A defensive injury crisis has focused Manchester City on signing reinforcements in the January transfer window and they are targeting Marc Guehi. Additions will be needed for a prolonged run in the Champions League and Manchester City are also still involved in both domestic Cup competitions, but for this Premier League fixture, the hosts are going to need to plug in replacements at the back and look for a stronger showing from the attacking players.
They are favourites against a Brighton team that have conceded twice in each of the last 3 away Premier League games and who have been struggling for consistency.
However, Fabian Hurzeler will set his team up to counter Manchester City with pace and this could be an entertaining game.
Brighton beat Manchester City at home earlier this season and fought back twice in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium last March. They have been struggling through an injury crisis of their own, but those look to be clearing up and Brighton will certainly feel they can give as good as they get.
The important factor will be if Brighton can defend well enough with recent hosts creating a lot of chances against them and Manchester City are not expected to be any different.
It should be the difference and Manchester City are unlikely to be as wasteful in the final third for a second home game in a row. Keeping a clean sheet is going to be a very tough challenge, but they should have the firepower to edge past Brighton and do just enough to cover the Asian Handicap line set.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester City 3-1 Brighton
