Man City vs Brighton: Is the match on TV? Plus team news, referee, kick-off time & prediction

Manchester City welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday with Pep Guardiola’s side looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool last time out. The loss was the Blues’ first in the league this season after Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the game.

City come into the game in good form. They have won three of their last five league games and have scored 14 goals during this run, including six against cross-town rivals Manchester United at the beginning of this month.

As for the visitors, they are without a win in their previous four league games and drew 0-0 with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday evening. The Seagulls are in a transition period under new boss Roberto De Zerbi since Graham Potter’s departure for Chelsea in September.

The Blues have dominated in this fixture at the Etihad since Brighton’s promotion to the Premier League. They have beaten the Seagulls on all five occasions in Manchester, including a 3-0 win last campaign.

When is the match?

The game takes place on Saturday 22 October 2022 at the Etihad Stadium and kicks-off is at 3pm.

How to watch on TV

The match won’t be shown live on TV due to the 3pm broadcast blackout. More TV information can be found here.

Referee

Craig Pawson will take charge of the game and this will be his first Premier League match involving City this season. The official refereed the Blues’ 3-1 Community Shield loss to Liverpool in July.

Pawson will be assisted at the Etihad by Marc Perry and Scott Ledger, while Tony Harrington will be on fourth official duty. Lee Mason and Ian Hussin are set to oversee VAR from Stockley Park.

Team News

Guardiola made several changes to his starting XI against Liverpool from that which played Copenhagen in midweek. Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Bernardo SIlva, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake replaced Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez.

Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker are unavailable after undergoing surgery on injuries in recent weeks, while John Stones could return to City’s matchday squad after missing their last four games with a hamstring issue, with Guardiola confirming on Friday that he has returned from a recent hamstring issue.

As for Brighton, Adam Lallana was the only change they made to their starting XI from those who played against Brentford in their 2-0 defeat last weekend, he replaced Pervis Estupinan. Kaoru Mitoma will miss the game at the Etihad due to an ankle injury.

Prediction

City have been impressive this campaign until their loss against Liverpool, often dominating their opposition in most areas of the pitch. They sit second in the table on merit, five places above and eight points better off than Brighton.

Haaland’s form in front of goal will be a key factor for the Blues on Saturday, especially with the striker failing to score against Jurgen Klopp’s side. He will be relishing the chance to face a Seagulls defence that have kept just one clean sheet in their last six games.

Meanwhile, Brighton will be more determined than ever to secure their first win under De Zerbi. The Seagulls will be hoping to take inspiration from Bournemouth and Liverpool when it comes to stopping Haaland on Saturday.

Our prediction: City 3-0 Brighton