Manchester City will be aiming to get back to winning ways as they welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League.
The Blues have drawn twice frustratingly in their last two
games to Sunderland and Chelsea, but will be hoping to put things right against a Brighton side who have won just one of their last seven matches.
The reverse fixture saw late goals from James Milner and Brajan Gruda help the Seagulls come from behind to beat City, in a match notable for being James Trafford’s most recent Premier League appearance before the transformative signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma and for being one of just four defeats for Pep Guardiola’s side up to this point in the season.
Here are five things to look out for in the midweek clash with Brighton:
Ake x Khusanov centre back pairing
Injuries to John Stones, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol (the latter of whom could miss the rest of the remaining season) means Nathan Ake and Abdukodir Khusanov are going to be relied upon heavily for the next few weeks.
Ake is probably going to leave in the summer. The 30-year-old has been an amazing servant for City, contributing greatly to the treble and battling his way to a regular starting place when most suggested it was out of his reach, but injuries have always plagued him and he has just eighteen months left on his contract.
Khusanov, meanwhile, you sense is at the beginning of his City career. The 21-year-old still has plenty of tidying up to do but has the fundamentals of a brilliant defender; he’s super fast, aggressive in the tackle, reads the game well and is better on the ball than he’s given credit for.
Right now, they’re the only two fit centre backs City have at their disposal. Max Alleyne has been recalled from his loan at Watford and could play a few minutes, whilst Stephen Mfuni is the standout centre back amongst the current academy crop.
Guardiola has said £30 million signing from last January Vitor Reis won’t be recalled from his loan at Girona, but the Blues are said to be exploring a deal for Crystal Palace and England centre back Marc Guehi, whose contract expires in the summer.
Dias should be back in just over a month, but in the meantime City will be relying on Khusanov and Ake to hold the fort until reinforcements can be found from the transfer market or within the club.
Rodri on the bench
After playing the second half against Sunderland and the entire 90 minutes against Chelsea, Rodri needs to return to the bench.
Giving him so much playing time within a week will only see his muscular injuries return, and that is the last thing we need considering the injuries elsewhere on the pitch.
The 29-year-old will also presumably not start against Exeter City on Saturday in the third round of the FA Cup, so this is a good chance to give him time to recover after playing more minutes than he will have anticipated playing due to Nico Gonzalez’s injury.
Thankfully, Nico can return to the fold now according to Guardiola so City shouldn’t be weakened by Rodri’s absence too significantly.
Guardiola embracing transitions
Fabian Hurzeler, like Roberto de Zerbi and Graham Potter before him, like to play front foot football, and City can exploit that.
They have the better players on paper, so whilst they may concede chances they’ll also have more opportunities down the other end of the pitch.
The attack have been poor in the last two games, but that was when breaking down deep defences and in missing golden opportunities – rather than an issue of general quality.
They’ll have been practising in midweek and will be granted more space to thrive in, which Erling Haaland in particular must be licking his lips about.
Empty seats at home!
Midweek and in the middle of winter – you can expect a few empty seats tonight at the Etihad Stadium!
Weather conditions across the past few days will affect traffic and rail transportation, so many supporters will find it extremely difficult to make it to and from the game.
But spare a thought for Brighton fans, who will be lucky to make it back to Sussex this evening and will be having to fork out money for accommodation for the night.
Such is the life of a football fan – but the associated bodies could definitely be more considerate to supporters making long, midweek trips away like this.
Nervous defending after the Chelsea result
I don’t like to end on a negative – but that’s certainly what City did against Chelsea on Sunday!
The poor decision making in possession and tired defending allowed Enzo Fernandez to grab his side a late equaliser, and after the scare at Fulham just over a month ago where City nearly threw away a 5-1 lead, there’s always the chance that it’s impacting the players mentally.
If Brighton have a late surge whilst City are holding onto a late lead, you can expect some, nervy, last ditch defending in order to try and squeak a win over the line.
