Chris Sutton has predicted how Manchester City will fare in their Premier League trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Manchester City and Brighton both find themselves in dire need of a confidence-boosting win after far-from-ideal starts to their respective campaigns.
The Citizens were impressive in their 4-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers but they then flattered to deceive in the 2-0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, Brighton are yet to win in the Premier League this season, though a 6-0 win at Oxford United in the Carabao Cup will have increased their confidence.
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola could now make a big transfer U-turn in wake of Manchester City’s Champions League draw
Jeremy Doku of Manchester City and Carlos Baleba of Brighton & Hove Albion during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Etihad Stadium on March 15, 2025
Photo by MB Media/Getty Images
Chris Sutton predicts narrow win for Manchester City
Chris Sutton said this would be a hard game to call and, though he didn’t exactly stick his neck out massively, he opted for a narrow 2-1 win to Man City.
More Man City News
The BBC Sport pundit noted how he often backed City to bounce back last season, but they failed to do so.
Sutton also claimed this game would be key in determining whether City have what it takes to be Premier League title challengers this term.
“Brighton should’ve won their first game against Fulham,” Sutton wrote on BBC Sport. “They didn’t and then they lost to Everton despite having a fair few chances.
“This match could be anything. I think we’ll find out a lot about Manchester City and whether they can be challengers because Brighton away is a difficult fixture.
“Last season I backed City on so many occasions saying they’d bounce back. I got so many of the predictions wrong after they did the exact opposite and stayed on their bad run.
“There’s a strong chance I’ll be wrong again, wouldn’t be the first time, but I’m going to revert back to last season’s technique and say City will pinch this.”
READ MORE: Manchester City’s Champions League windfall set to explode thanks to £550m UEFA bounty, ‘buried treasure…’
Provisional Manchester City team news vs Brighton
City have been handed a positive injury boost as Algeria managed Vladimir Petkovic said Rayan Ait-Nouri’s injury against Tottenham is not as bad as first feared.
Rayan Ait-Nouri was forced off early against Thomas Frank’s side, but the Man City summer signing is on course to be available for selection against Brighton.
Guardiola is expected to deliver fitness updates on Josko Gvardiol and Savinho, while Mateo Kovacic remains sidelined.