Soccer English Premier League Prediction

Brighton vs Manchester City - Match Preview

⚽ 24 May 2023 - 19:00 GMT +0

With a handy double from Evan Ferguson in a 3-1 win over their doomed south coast rivals Southampton, the Seagulls of Brighton & Hove Albion soared to seal a maiden appearance in European competition for the 2023/24 campaign with two Premier League (PL) games to spare. Just one more point will ensure that European competition is the UEFA Europa League, although it would take two Brighton defeats and an almighty swing in goal difference for Aston Villa to clip their wings at this stage.

A rocking Amex Stadium may buoy Roberto De Zerbi’s men to further success after some solid ten-game home PL form (W7, D1, L2), yet facing the treble-chasing Manchester City is enough to strike fear in the hearts of any side. In fact, Brighton has lost all but one PL H2H since their promotion (W1, L10) and that lack of draws may continue after flip-flopping between victories and defeats across their last five rounds this season (W3, L2).

It was a double-whammy of big PL moments on Saturday as Nottingham Forest confirmed their survival with a 1-0 win over Arsenal, but perhaps more importantly, it confirmed City’s third PL title in succession! Pep Guardiola is now seeking to cement his place amongst the best managers of all time with an elusive treble, yet there is the small matter of two PL games before those huge FA Cup and Champions League finals.

The Cityzens signed off their home campaign with a 1-0 win over Chelsea and now all that’s left to play for is four points to finish as the PL’s strongest away side. Picking up those points is far from guaranteed though, as whilst City have won each of their last five PL road trips, they’ve failed to win five of their six away league games against top-eight opponents (W1, D2, L3).

📋 Players to watch: Brighton’s Ferguson further solidified his place as the highest-scoring teenager in the PL this season at the weekend, now hitting at least twice as many goals as his nearest challenger (G6). As for City, Julián Álvarez scored their 100th competitive home goal of the season on Sunday, and with three of his four prior league goals coming on his travels, he’ll hope to get on the scoresheet once again as he gets more game time in the dying embers of the season.

⚡ Hot stat: Brighton (42%) and Manchester City (50%) rank in the top-three PL sides in terms of scoring in both halves.