Manchester City v Brighton and Hove Albion
Date: 09/05/18
K/O: 20:00pm
Venue: The Etihad
Referee: Paul Tierney
Man City bid farewell to Yaya Toure as he makes his final appearance vs Brighton before departing the Citizens this summer.
Pep Guardiola has said Ivorian Toure will be given “a beautiful farewell” as the Citizens bid to surpass 95 points and set a new Premier League record.
Having clinched survival with victory over City’s rivals United on Friday, Brighton could rotate their squad in what is ultimately a dead rubber fixture.
The Seagulls have no fresh injury concerns and may name an unchanged side if Chris Hughton sets them the challenge of taking points back to the south coast.
City captain Vincent Kompany could return after missing the weekends draw with Huddersfield, while Benjamin Mendy may be given his first start in eight months.
Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva will press for recalls in midfield alongside the departing Toure, but may be left out in favour of stalwarts Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva.
The front three of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane will continue and aim to make amends after drawing a blank for only the second time this season on Sunday.
Chris Hughton will be aware of City’s firepower when considering his starting XI, and is expected to name the same line up that shocked Manchester United five days ago.
Steve Sidwell remains the only Seagull on the injury list, while Jurgen Locadia, Solly March and Beram Kayal will come in if Hughton does ring the changes.
Brighton proved a tough nut to crack for City on the opening day of the season, but the quality shone through in the end. I see this game unfolding in a similar vein.
Prediction: Manchester City 3 Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Written by Sam Hanys.
