**City's looking to break the Brighton curse** — these two drew 2-2 just last time out, and that stalemate's part of a weird pattern for Pep's squad. Brighton keep scrapping, but Man City's firepower should tell eventually. 🔵

City are wobbling with back-to-back losses before the Athens demolition, while Brighton sit solid on 2W-2D form. The H2H heavily favors City (13 wins in 20), though they've struggled to put Brighton away recently.

Key storylines:

- **Erling Haaland** needs to convert City's dominance into goals — Brighton's makeshift backline (five players out) is vulnerable but organized
- **Brighton's injury crisis** has gutted their wing options and midfield depth; they'll absorb pressure and hunt on the break
- **City's attacking depth** with **Rodrygo Cherki** and **Allan** alongside Haaland gives them multiple ways to unlock a compact away side

Expected lineups:

- **Manchester City**: Donnarumma, Gvardiol, Dias, Guéhi, Lewis, Fernández, Anderson, Ndiaye, Cherki, Allan, Haaland
- **Brighton & Hove Albion**: Verbruggen, De Cuyper, Vušković, Svoboda, Gómez, Groß, Ayari, Osman, Boscagli, Yalcouyé, Kostoulas

Prediction:

**City 2-1 Brighton.** City should dominate possession and carve out chances, but Brighton's injury-ravaged setup will nick one on the counter to keep it spicy. 📊