Albion v Man City
PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: The American Express Stadium
Date: Saturday 9th November 2024
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Sam Barrott
Assistants: Lee Betts, Steven Meredith
Fourth Official: Andy Davies
VAR: Jarred Gillett
Additional VAR: Stuart Burt
TEAM NEWS
Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Matt O'Riley could make his Premier League debut, two and a half months after suffering a serious ankle injury just nine minutes into his first game for the club in an EFL Cup tie.
He could be joined in the matchday squad by Joao Pedro, who has made just four appearances this season due to injury, and none since a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on 22 September.
Yasin Ayari has trained despite being forced off during last weekend's defeat at Liverpool but this game may come too soon for Lewis Dunk and Yankuba Minteh.
Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne could make his first Premier League appearance since 14 September after returning from injury as a late substitute in the Champions League defeat at Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.
John Stones will miss a third game due to a foot injury, while Ruben Dias, Oscar Bobb and Jack Grealish are still sidelined.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Brighton & Hove Albion's only two victories in 14 Premier League games against Manchester City both came at home, in 2021 and 2023.
- City defeated Brighton 2-1 at the Etihad and 4-0 at the Amex in last season's Premier League.
- They have scored 22 goals in their seven Premier League visits to Brighton.
- Brighton have conceded 40 Premier League goals in this fixture, a club record against one opponent. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in all 14 encounters.
- Brighton's tally of 16 points is their second highest after 10 Premier League matches. They had recorded 17 by this stage of last season.
- They are unbeaten in all five home league games in 2024-25, their longest streak from the start of a top-flight season since a run of seven in 1982.
- Brighton have dropped 10 points from winning positions, only four fewer than in the entirety of last season. Their two defeats, against Chelsea and Liverpool, came after taking the lead.
- Albion can equal the Premier League record of scoring and conceding multiple goals in four consecutive fixtures, last set by Chelsea in April.
- The Seagulls have had a league-high 10 different goalscorers in the top flight this season.
- Danny Welbeck is one goal short of equalling Pascal Gross as Brighton's leading Premier League scorer on 30 goals.
- Welbeck has scored six goals this season, already equalling his best return as a Brighton player. His best career tally is nine goals for Manchester United in 2011-12 and 2013-14.
- However, Welbeck has failed to score in any of his 19 Premier League appearances against Manchester City. His only goal against them came in Manchester United's 3-2 away win in the FA Cup third round in 2012.
- City's club league record run of 32 consecutive unbeaten games was ended by a 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth last time out.
- City allowed six shots on target at the Vitality Stadium and an xG of 1.77 – the highest figures they have faced in the league this season.
- They could lose four consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since April to August 2006 under Stuart Pearce.
- Pep Guardiola has never suffered four successive defeats in all competitions as a manager.
- City have conceded the opening goal in five of their 10 Premier League fixtures this season. The loss at Bournemouth is the only one of those five matches they did not come back to win.
- A tally of two clean sheets is their lowest after 10 matches of a Premier League campaign since Guardiola's first season in charge in 2016-17.
- Eight of the 11 league goals they have conceded have come in the first half of matches. At 73%, this is the highest share of any team.
- Erling Haaland has scored 74 goals in 76 Premier League appearances. The record for fewest games to reach 75 goals is 93 by Alan Shearer in 1995.
- Haaland has netted only one goal in his last five Premier League appearances, after he scored 10 in the opening five matches of this campaign.
- Phil Foden has eight Premier League goals against Brighton, his highest tally versus any team.
- However, Foden is yet to score in seven Premier League outings this season, his longest drought since going 15 games without a league goal between May 2019 and March 2020.
Fabian Hürzeler's Man City Press Conference
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