Manchester City and Brighton return to the Premier League immediately this midweek just after a weekend of FA Cup third round matches, head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium.
The win could see Pep Guardiola’s City side finish this week in the top three, while Brighton looks nervously over his shoulder as the relegation zone becomes clearer behind.
When does the kick-off take place? Wednesday January 13
What time is the kick-off? 6:00 p.m. (GMT)
Where is it played? Etihad Stadium
TV channel? BT Sport (UK)
Arbitrator? Darren England (VAR: Mike Dean)
Raheem Sterling missed City’s FA Cup third round victory over Birmingham on Sunday as medics deemed it insufficient. Sterling had played 90 minutes against Manchester United four days earlier and in the club’s last Premier League game against Chelsea before that.
The England winger will be assessed before the game and could still return.
Ederson was back on the bench against the Championship side after his coronavirus isolation and could replace Zack Steffen in goal. The American has always had a good chance to keep his place in the FA Cup game, but the Brazilian is number one in the Premier League and overall.
City center-backs Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake are injured, while Ferran Torres, who signed last summer, is also lacking in form after his coronavirus isolation. Sergio Aguero, meanwhile, will still be in administrative segregation for 10 days following contact with a positive case.
The fear for Brighton is that Tariq Lamptey could be out until February due to a setback as he recovers from a hamstring injury that had already sidelined him since mid-December .
Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana have doubts after missing the Seagulls’ FA Cup draw against Newport, while Yves Bissouma is suspended for racking up five yellow cards.
Man City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko; Rodri, Gundogan; Silva, De Bruyne, Foden; Jesus
Brighton (3-4-2-1): Sanchez; Webster, Dunk, Burn; Veltman, Propper, White, March; MacAllister, Trossard; Maupay
Manchester city
Man city 3-0 Birmingham – FA Cup (01/10)
Man Utd 0-2 Man city – Carabao Cup (06/01)
Chelsea 1-3 Man city – premier league (01/03)
Man city 2-0 Newcastle – premier league (12/26)
Arsenal 1-4 Man city – Carabao Cup (22/12)
Brighton
Newport 1-1 Brighton (AET – Brighton 5-4 on penalties) – FA Cup (01/10)
Brighton 3-3 wolves – premier league (01/02)
Brighton 0-1 Arsenal – premier league (12/29)
Western ham 2-2 Brighton – premier league (12/27)
Brighton 1 – 1 Sheffield United – premier league (20/12)
Manchester City have regained their form in a big way in recent weeks, following what had been a poor start to the season by their own high standards. Even a coronavirus outbreak and a number of players forced into isolation haven’t slowed them down.
Brighton, meanwhile, have struggled to win games – only one Premier League win since September – and have conceded too many goals, leaving them clearly vulnerable.
Prediction: Manchester City 4-0 Brighton
For more than Jamie Spencer, follow it on Twitter and Facebook!
