Manchester City hosts Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday in a match-up of two sides that are currently not in a table position that most expected them to be.
Brighton is firmly on the first page of the table having started the season with the look of a bonafide top four contender. They’ve come down to Earth since but will pose a real challenge to City who are not top of the table, nor tied for the penthouse. They’re actually four points behind the league leading pace at this point.
Brighton and Hove Albion at Manchester City FYIs
Kick-off time: 3 PM GMT, Saturday Oct 22, The Etihad
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction: go here
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Form Guide Premier League: Brighton DLLDW Manchester City LWWWD
Premier League Position: Brighton 15 pts, 8th Manchester City 23pts, 2nd
Result Probability: Brighton win 7% Draw 13% Manchester City win 80%
Team News for Both Sides
John Stones, Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips remain out of commission as Man City’s three long-term injury absentees. Walker and Stones, who are reportedly making good progress in their rehab, should return well ahead of Phillips.
Flipping over to the Seagulls, Levi Colwill is touch and go here with a knock, but Jakub Moder and Kaoru Mitoma remain on the sidelines.
These are definitely two sides that are close to full fitness.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.