Manchester City V Brighton
Saturday 31st August 2019 – 15:00 Kick-Off
English Premier League
Pick: Under 3.5 Goals
Odds: 11/10
Bookmaker: BetFred
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/50 | 11/1 | 59/2 |
* (All betting odds displayed were correct as of 29th August 2019 at 00:30)
Preview: The champions are back in Premier League action here, preparing to host a Brighton side they have managed to beat on all four previous occasions they have clashed in the top-flight – with this same fixture last season finishing in a 2-0 scoreline for Manchester City at Etihad Stadium. Will Pep Guardiola’s men rack up even more goals on this occasion?
English Premier League Betting with 22Bet
Manchester City Preview – Sterling to continue hot scoring streak in predictable City win?
The Citizens renew acquaintances with an opponent against whom they secured a second consecutive league title in the final fixture of last season. That opponent is Brighton, a team they would comprehensively beat 4-1 at The Amex Stadium back in May to spark jubilant scenes among the travelling support. The same opponent they boast a perfect record of four wins out of four in past Premier League meetings to dominate this match-up by an aggregate of 11-2.
In theory then, this should be another simple afternoon for Pep Guardiola’s men. We have seen very little in their opening three fixtures of the season to suggest otherwise, despite having already dropped points to trail league leaders Liverpool by two points. Those points were of course relinquished at home to Tottenham, but even that minor slip up occurred in a game City were utterly dominant in, producing a performance that was certainly worthy of more than a single point.
There were some signs of fallacy at Bournemouth last time out, though, with The Cherries causing the City backline plenty of problems. When you possess world-class attacking talent, you can afford to be occasionally vulnerable I suppose; City still running out deserving 3-1 winners. That also makes it ten goals in three games, with Raheem Sterling (5 goals) and Sergio Aguero (4 goals) on the scoresheet at least once in all three.
A repeat of the above, which is Sterling and Aguero both scoring in this match, is available at around 11/8 with Betfair. That would have been a winning bet in last season’s corresponding fixture as well, when City recorded a 2-0 win at home to Brighton. Meanwhile, Sterling to score in a Man City win is 8/13 with WilliamHill.
Brighton Preview – Seagulls to scavenge first ever Premier League points versus City?
There won’t be a single team in the English top-flight envying the task facing Brighton this weekend, as The Seagulls prepare to make the daunting trip north to tackle the reigning champions – a Man City team that in four previous Premier League encounters, they are still to claim a single point against. PaddyPower offer the best odds on them doing so at the fifth attempt, with Brighton or Draw (Double Chance) a 15/2 shot.
I suspect the latter bet is not going to prove popular, though. After all, this is a team with a wretched record versus the eventual top six teams in 2018-19. There were defeats at Chelsea (3-0), Liverpool (1-0), Manchester United (2-1) and Tottenham (1-0). The only team they avoided defeat against being Arsenal, who at the time were not only faltering badly but were hamstrung by their European endeavours.
However, one thing Brighton did do reasonably well in the previous league campaign was keep it respectable on their travels against the elite sides, with several of their losses in such games coming by slender margins. That will likely be the aim again here; to pack the defence in an attempt to keep the scoring to a minimum. Although whether a defence which has been breached in each of its past two league fixtures – in home clashes with West Ham (1-1) and Southampton (L0-2) – remains to be seen.
A performance similar to the one produced on the opening weekend, when they surprised quite a few punters to record an impressive 3-0 scoreline away to Watford, would be handy. Neal Maupay was among the scorers that day and the Frenchman has posed the biggest goal threat for his team so far. The former Brentford attacker is 4/1 with Betfair to score anytime at The Etihad.
Man City V Brighton Key Facts:
- Man City have registered seven points from their first three league games of the season (W2 D1).
- Brighton have four points on the board (W1 D1 L1) but did win their only away match to date at Watford (0-3).
- All four of their previous Premier League meetings were won by Man City.
Betting Summary
There hasn’t been much in the way of surprises regarding Man City so far, apart from the fact they don’t have maximum points from their first three league games. Their only dropped points coming in their only home fixture to date, in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham. Goals are still free-flowing (11 and counting), although there has been just the one clean sheet – in that 5-0 whitewashing of West Ham on the opening matchday.
Graham Potter could not have imagined a better start to his tenure as Brighton manager when his side went to Watford on Matchday One and picked up a 3-0 victory. It has been a gradual decline ever since, however, drawing at home to West Ham the following game before succumbing to a 2-0 scoreline, also at home, last time out against Southampton. The dismissal of Florian Andone in the latter obviously didn’t help the team’s cause and he is suspended here.
This fixture has been an absolute banker for City in the past couple seasons, winning all four league meetings as well as an FA Cup win for good measure. Last season’s Etihad encounter finished 2-0 to the home side and a similar scoreline could be in the offing; Brighton are unlikely to commit too many men forward, with the onus on them to defend. The Seagulls trips to last season’s top six sides all produced 3 goals or fewer in the match and a similar outcome isn’t unthinkable.
