Manchester City host Brighton & Hove Albion with the hope of returning back to winning ways after a tough 1-1 draw to Chelsea on Sunday.
City’s first home game of the year ended in disappointment as Enzo Fernandez prodded the ball into the net in the 94th minute to cancel out Tijjani Reijnders first half strike, leaving the Blues six points away from Arsenal at the top of the table.
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The 1-1 draw shared the same story as the previous draw to Sunderland, with Manchester City the dominant side once again but wasteful in the final third. City held 57 per cent of the ball and had 14 shots to Chelsea’s eight.
As if the 94th minute heartbreak wasn’t enough, Manchester City also come away from the clash having lost a key player in Josko Gvardiol. The Croatian was substituted in the 51st minute after injuring himself in challenging Chelsea right-back Malo Gusto for the ball.
The club have since confirmed that the 23-year-old has suffered a tibial fracture to his right-back, in an injury that has led to the recall of Max Alleyne from his loan at Watford. Ruben Dias was also withdrawn with a hamstring issue, ruling him out for between four and six weeks.
Next up for Pep Guardiola’s side is south-coast side Brighton. The Seagulls currently sit in 10th place, and just three points off of the top five. They come into this match off the back of a 2-0 win against Burnley, their first win in seven games.
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Brighton’s form has been patchy this season with seven wins, seven draws, and six losses. They have managed to get the better of current top six opposition on two occasions though, with both Manchester City and Chelsea having fallen to defeat against Fabian Hurzeler’s men.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Brighton on Wednesday night!
Match Details
Manchester City face Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday 7th January, with kick off scheduled for 19:30 GMT.
Match Officials
Thomas Bramall will oversee the clash between Manchester City and Brighton. The last time he officiated a City game was the 3-1 victory against Bournemouth in May 2025.
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Check out the full list of match officials, including the VAR team, below!
Match Officials: Thomas Bramall to referee Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Team News
Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri both remain unavailable as they represent Egypt and Algeria respectively at the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Morocco. Both teams successfully qualified for the knockout rounds and so remain unavailable for selection.
Savinho, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, and Oscar Bobb all remain ruled out of contention due to injury, although exact return timelines for their respective injuries are unknown at this point in time.
As already mentioned, Ruben Dias is sidelined for up to six weeks with a hamstring issue, while Josko Gvardiol suffered a fractured tibia in the draw to Chelsea and is expected to be out of action for up to five months.
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Nico Gonzalez, however, is “fine” according to his manager, and could feature in this one – perhaps ahead of Rodri following his return to the starting line-up at the weekend.
For Brighton, Adam Webster is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a ligament injury. Attackers Stefanos Tzimas and Yankuba Minteh are also set to miss out through injury.
Head to Head
In their most recent matchup, Brighton came out victorious in a 2-1 win at the Amex. Erling Haaland’s opener was cancelled out as former Manchester City man James Milner smashed a 67th minute penalty past James Trafford. The hosts then went on to add another in the 89th minute to seal all three points.
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The Blues have failed to win their last three against the Sussex-based side, having lost two and drawn one. Their last win came in April 2024 with a brace from Phil Foden and goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Julian Alvarez guiding Manchester City to a 0-4 win away from home.
The two sides have faced off 35 times with City having won 21 matches to Brighton’s eight. City have scored 76 goals and conceded 37 across those matches.
Press Conference Quotes
Pep Guardiola: “We have [Abdukodir] Khusa and Nathan [Ake] back as central defenders, Max [Alleyne] came back from loan at Watford – we appreciate Watford, what they’ve done for the young lad.
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“Omar [Marmoush] and Rayan [Ait-Nouri] is in AFCON, injuries with John [Stones], Oscar Bobb, coming back Jeremy [Doku] and Rodri from long injuries – that’s the situation. That’s good. (Can you cope?) Of course! With the spirit we have, always we can cope with it.”
On Arsenal: “So strong. In the last two or three seasons they are so strong, and they are stronger and stronger. They are!”
“I’m really pleased with the squad we had in pre-season and the season right now… We wish Josko [Gvardiol] and Ruben [Dias] come back soon, and John [Stones] as well, the players from Africa can come back, and survive that moment and period – go for the next one.”
“I’m so confident, and positive, and we will do it.”
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Statistics
Erling Haaland has never failed to score in four consecutive top-flight matches in his career. The Norwegian striker currently holds a three game goalless streak.
Manchester City have never lost a league home match against Brighton (12 wins and 3 draws). This is City’s longest unbeaten home run against a single opponent in the club’s history.
Phil Foden is the highest scoring player in this fixture’s history with 11 goals, next on the list is legendary striker Sergio Aguero with five goals.
Manchester City have drawn both of their last two Premier League games; in Pep Guardiola’s managerial career, only in April 2017 and December 2023 has he ever drawn three successive league matches.
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In Brighton’s 2-1 win in August 2025, former Manchester City player James Milner became the oldest ever penalty scorer in a Premier League game (39 years, 239 days).
When playing games on a Wednesday, only Watford and Portsmouth have a lower win rate in the Premier League than Brighton.
Manchester City have scored in all 17 of their Premier League games against Brighton, their joint-best 100% scoring record against an opponent along with Bournemouth.
Manchester City have won 31 of their last 33 Premier League matches on a Wednesday (D1 L1), while at home they’ve won their last 22 Wednesday games. It is the longest ever home winning run on a specific day of the week by any side in Premier League history.
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How to Watch
For UK viewers, the game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event.
For viewers in the United States, the match will be shown on Peacock.
You can find full global TV listings here!
City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout Wednesday evening, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!
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