Manchester City look to remain in control of the Premier League title race as they travel to meet Brighton in the Premier League on Thursday.
Pep Guardiola heads to the Amex Stadium with a four-point deficit in the table, trailing Arsenal, but City are only a point behind Liverpool, who surprisingly lost against Everton in the Merseyside Derby.
City have two games in hand on the leaders, and the destination of the title is in their hands with just a few matches left in the season.
They will have to progress today without talisman striker Erling Haaland, who misses out for a second straight match after failing to prove fit for the FA Cup semifinal win over Chelsea on the weekend. Julian Alvarez is as capable of a fill-in, but still the absence of their superstar striker will be notable.
Brighton sit 11th in the table, with very little to play for the rest of the way and a lengthy injury list for Roberto De Zerbi to deal with before heading into a summer where he could be in play for a collection of managerial openings.
The Sporting News is following the Brighton vs Man City match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
Kickoff: 8 p.m. local (3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT)
Location: American Express Stadium (Brighton, England)
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Starting lineups (predicted):
Brighton (4-2-3-1, right to left): Verbruggen (GK) — Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Igor — Baleba, Gross — Adingra, Moder, Bounanotte — Welbeck.
Man City (4-2-3-1, right to left): Ederson (GK) — Walker, Dias, Akanji, Ake — Rodri, Kovacic — Foden, De Bruyne, Doku — Alvarez.
3 hours to kickoff: Without Erling Haaland fit to start up front, Man City should again turn to Phil Foden, who has been rested for the last two Premier League games amidst the Champions League run, but with that now at an end he can again be used in domestic action.
Foden had four goal contributions in the six matches while Haaland was shelved in December, and scored a hat-trick with Haaland on the bench against Aston Villa in early April. With 14 goals in the league campaign overall, Foden is probably out of the Golden Boot running unless he goes on an unprecedented run, but he could be a major player in the title race and put himself back in the forefront of the Player of the Season conversation.
Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi is still missing a host of key players for the final weeks of the campaign. There are a few bright spots, as central defender Adam Webster will be available after missing three games, while young star Julio Enciso will soon be back from his ACL tear and will be brought into the fold slowly.
Yet the likes of Evan Ferguson, Tariq Lamptey and Karou Mitoma remain absent, while Solly March, Pervis Estupinan, and Billy Gilmour are also sidelined for some time more as the injury list looks bleak.
Brighton projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen (GK) — Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Igor — Baleba, Gross — Adingra, Moder, Bounanotte — Welbeck.
Brighton subs (9): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)
Erling Haaland had been thought to be involved here after the Norwegian star missed the Chelsea game on the weekend with a muscle issue, but he has been ruled out once again by Pep Guardiola. Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku could, however, come in to start for City alongside Phil Foden after they were rested in the recent FA Cup semifinal.
Man City projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Ederson (GK) — Walker, Dias, Akanji, Ake — Rodri, Kovacic — Foden, De Bruyne, Doku — Alvarez.
Man City subs (9): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)
As the only Premier League match of the day, U.S. broadcast rights-holder NBC Sports has decided to televise this match on USA Network, which can be streamed on Fubo, who are offering a free trial for new users.
In Canada, Fubo is the exclusive broadcast rights-holder for the Premier League this season, with every match from August to May streaming live on the platform. Fubo also hold the exclusive broadcast rights to Serie A games in Canada, while other leagues like MLS, Bundesliga, and La Liga can be found throughout the season as well.
This midweek Premier League match will be broadcast domestically on Sky Sports television in the U.K. and their streaming platforms.
