Man City must arrest slump at Brighton as pundits all make the same prediction

Manchester City will make the journey south this evening to take on Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League, looking to arrest their recent slump in form.

The Cityzens head to the Amex Stadium on the back of three successive defeats in all competitions, after a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, a 2-1 loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League and a 4-1 thrashing at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

Crucially, they haven't lost too much ground in the Premier League title race and head into the weekend two points adrift of league leaders Liverpool.

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If they can find a win against Brighton, it will temporarily lift them to the top of the table before Liverpool host Aston Villa later in the evening.

However, if City drop points it will hand Liverpool the chance to extend their lead at the summit heading into the November international break.

With all that in mind, here is how three leading pundits think City's trip to Brighton will play out.

Harry Redknapp

The former Tottenham manager told Bet Victor: "Brighton probably feel like they should have got something from the game against Liverpool last week.

"They had a few decent chances to go two up and you’ve just got to take them against these top sides. They showed how dangerous they are though and in Danny Welbeck, they’ve got one of the league’s form strikers.

"What a bad week it’s been for Manchester City. I know it’s stating the obvious but there’s no way City concede this number of goals if Rodri is in the side. I don’t care how good you are, how much money you have, you miss a player of that quality. I’d be worried about the other end too, they aren’t scoring or creating all that much.

"I just can’t see a Pep Guardiola side losing three games in a week. I’m going for a City win but I do think Brighton will score. He didn’t have a great night in Lisbon, but Erling Haaland should have some joy against a Brighton side that does give you chances."

Harry Redknapp's prediction: Brighton 1-2 Man City

Chris Sutton

The former Blackburn and Celtic forward told BBC Sport: "Brighton ended up losing last week, but they absolutely played Liverpool off the park at Anfield for 45 minutes.

"I'd not seen much of Seagulls midfielder Yasin Ayari beforehand but I was at the game for 5 Live, and what a great young player he looks. The same goes for Jack Hinshelwood too.

"The way they played out from the back, with such bravery and confidence, was impressive and Liverpool had to dig very deep to recover from 1-0 down and beat them.

"Manchester City are going to have to do the same to get back to winning ways. After they lost to Sporting on Tuesday, City midfielder Bernardo Silva said they are "in a dark place" at the moment but they are champions for a reason and I am expecting a response.

"They have got a point to prove, and that might help them find the energy they will need."

Chris Sutton's prediction: Brighton 1-2 Man City

Mark Lawrenson

The former Match of the Day pundit told Paddy Power: Manchester City are so strange at the moment. They only played for 20 minutes at Bournemouth and got thumped at Sporting in the week.

"Pep Guardiola will be gong mad so they should bounce back. It will be though though, if Brighton had been able to make it 2-0 against Liverpool when they were on top last weekend I think they would have won."

Mark Lawrenson's prediction: Brighton 1-2 Man City