After last week‘s disappointing defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City will be looking to bounce back as they travel to the south coast to face Brighton & Hove Albion. Three points from a possible six means Pep Guardiola’s side will be needing a win at the Amex to keep within touching distance of their potential title rivals at this very early stage of the season.
Previous Match: Manchester City 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Last Saturday saw City beaten at the Etihad in their first home game of the season; a match which proved to be a humbling after fans had begun to get carried away when the blues blew Wolves aside on the opening weekend. But Thomas Frank’s Spurs side exposed the weaknesses and fragility which has seemingly carried over from last season.
A poorly timed offside trap and an error from new goalkeeper James Trafford meant that Pep’s men had it all to do in the second half. Despite creating more chances than Spurs it never really felt like City were going to score and in the end Tottenham deserved to go back to North London with all three points.
Predicted formation and lineup against Brighton
Pep Guardiola is expected to stick to his faithful 4-3-3 formation against the Seagulls. Last season’s player of the year for City, Josko Gvardiol is still out injured for the visitors. Here‘s the predicted lineup:
Goalkeeper: James Trafford
The 22-year-old English keeper is expected to maintain his place in the XI despite last weekend‘s mistake. Ongoing transfer rumours surrounding Ederson makes it unlikely that the Brazilian international will take Trafford’s place.
Defence: Rayan Ait-Nouri, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Matheus Nunes
One change is expected from last week’s back line with Nunes coming in for Rico Lewis to provide extra pace up against Kaoru Mitoma on the left for Brighton. Ait-Nouri is expected to start despite coming off injured against Spurs. Stones and Dias are set to continue their partnership from the first two matches.
𝘽𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂: Rayan Ait-Nouri is “fine” and will be AVAILABLE for selection against Brighton on Sunday, Pep Guardiola has confirmed. ✅ pic.twitter.com/gnO3NpzOyz
— City Report (@cityreport_) August 29, 2025
Defensive Midfield: Rodri
The 2024 Ballon D’or winner seems set to start his first match of the season, replacing Nico Gonzalez at the base of the midfield three. Rodri will add extra defensive protection in front of a fragile back line, whilst also breaking the lines from defence to attack to ensure City don’t draw a blank for a second week running.
Central Midfield: Tijjani Reijnders, Phil Foden
Reijnders didn’t live up to his impressive debut against Wolves in the Spurs defeat but he seems a certain starter for City, providing energy both ways as well as a goalscoring threat with his late runs into the box. Foden may replace Rayan Cherki, who struggled to get into the game as much as he would’ve liked to last weekend. The English international hasn’t started a game this season.
Wingers: Jeremy Doku, Oscar Bobb
This combination offers raw pace in the form of Jeremy Doku and a more precise yet skillful approach from Oscar Bobb as they look to create chances for the main man up front. Bobb would be starting his third successive game in the league, whole Doku is replacing Marmoush who struggled on the left in the last weekend’s defeat.
Striker: Erling Haaland
Probably the most guaranteed name of the team sheet, barring any last minute injury or illness. The Norwegian striker will be hoping to have more chances created for him than last week as he looks to add to his two league goals from the opening day.
This predicted XI offers a combination of defensive stability with the introduction of Nunes and Rodri, whilst keeping the key fundamentals of a Guardiola team, keeping the ball. Foden and Doku were both bright off the bench last weekend and so bringing them into the lineup gives City a fresher, quicker look against a Brighton team that will push high and will give chances to their opposition to counter at speed.
Conclusion:
Last year Brighton were 2-1 victors in this fixture which was a part of City’s run of one win in 13 matches. However the team travelling down to Brighton this weekend will be much different to last year which had Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, now on loan at Celtic, as a part of a makeshift back line for the visitors.
With the additions of Trafford, Ait-Nouri and Reijnders all possibly in the lineup; as well as the reintroduction of Rodri and Foden, Guardiola will be hoping to see a much more energetic performance than last year, as this new look City look to respond to last week’s defeat.
