Brighton vs. Manchester City Prediction: Guardiola’s Men Must Bounce Back

• Manchester City lost 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on matchday two of 2025/26

• Brighton & Hove Albion are still waiting for their first victory of the season

• Will Manchester City return to winning ways at the Amex Stadium on Sunday?

Brighton vs. Manchester City Odds

The odds for Brighton vs. Manchester City can be found in the odds table below, courtesy of bet365 sportsbook. Sign up for a bet365 account with our promo code WSN365 and claim the welcome offer: Bet $5, Get $200 in Bonus Bets Win or Lose.

My -125 Pick for Brighton vs. Manchester City

Go for a Manchester City win in this EPL clash. Brighton have not got going yet this season and City can take full advantage by emerging victorious at the Amex Stadium.

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New-Look Manchester City Remain a Work in Progress

Manchester City started the new season with a bang, thumping Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 away from home. Their performance at Molineux led to talk that City have not been talked about enough as Premier League title contenders. Even without Rodri and Phil Foden, City cruised to victory and suddenly looked like their old selves.

Not so fast. Pep Guardiola's side were brought back down to earth last time out, losing 2-0 to bogey team Tottenham Hotspur. City were second best at the Etihad Stadium, as Spurs overpowered their hosts. It was a reminder that this City team remain a work in progress after their off-year in 2024/25.

City have brought down the average age of their squad over the summer. James Trafford has replaced Ederson between the sticks, while Tijjani Reijnders has bolstered Guardiola's midfield options and Rayan Cherki provides an x-factor in the final third. Rayan Ait-Nouri has also arrived at the Etihad to become City’s new first-choice left-back.

It will take time before all four players are fully integrated, so we should not draw hard and fast conclusions from the disappointing display against Tottenham. Guardiola knows that he still has plenty of work to do, though. The return of Rodri to the XI (which will probably not come as early as this weekend) will make City more robust, but it remains to be seen whether they are capable of sticking with Arsenal and Liverpool for the duration of a 38-game season.

“We missed the simple things. The effort and running is extraordinary and I have no doubts about that,” Guardiola said after the 2-0 loss to Spurs.

“The last game versus Wolves, everyone said everything was fine, but I said: ‘It’s just the first game.’ It’s the same now. We have to improve. Step by step until we make it click and have good connections. Now, we have seven days of rest and then it is Brighton.”

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Brighton Aiming to Pick Up First Victory Before Internationals

Brighton & Hove Albion are aiming to be in the European conversation again this season, but they have had a frustrating start. Conceding a late equaliser to Fulham cost them a win on matchday one, before Brighton went down 2-0 to Everton last weekend.

Being the first visitors to Everton’s new stadium was always going to be difficult given the Toffees’ desperation to get off to a winning start. But Fabian Hurzeler needs to pick up some more positive results soon. The jury remains out on the Premier League’s youngest manager among the Brighton fan base.

The Seagulls have grown accustomed to losing players, so the departure of Joao Pedro and Pervis Estupinan cannot be used as an excuse. Brighton have replaced those players in the market and Hurzeler will be expected to get the best out of the new recruits.

Brighton have some tricky games on the horizon. After Sunday's showdown with City, they travel across the south coast to Bournemouth, before back-to-back meetings with London clubs in Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Newcastle United and Manchester United are also among their opponents before the end of October.

“I think overall we were the better team, we created the better chances but in the end football is about scoring and keeping clean sheets,” he said after the defeat by Everton. “We didn't take care of the small actions and the small elements of the game and this is how you lose.

“We had a similar situation in the last game where we had chances and we have to be more ruthless. Every player wants to score and a goal always helps. In some moments we didn't defend well when we conceded the goals. We can improve and we have to focus.”

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Manchester City Likely to Have Too Much for Brighton

Manchester City have failed to win three of their last five visits to the Amex Stadium, so they are unlikely to have everything their own way on Sunday. Hurzeler is right to say his team have been creating chances: they rank fourth for expected goals after two games, but have only scored one goal.

Brighton will have to be more clinical with the opportunities they fashion this weekend. Even that might not be enough, however. Tottenham did a number on City last time out, but Brighton arguably do not have the tools to implement the same system that Spurs used with great success.

For all that City are not yet back to their best, they still have some quality players at their disposal. Erling Haaland looked sharp against Wolves in his team’s last away game, while Reijnders’ forward runs will cause Brighton problems. 

Brighton are capable of taking the ball away from City, but counter-attacking soccer rather than the possession version is probably the best way to beat Guardiola’s team. City should come through this challenge unscathed - they are unlikely to win heavily, but backing them to come out on top is the way to go for sports bettors.

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How to Watch Brighton vs. Manchester City

• Teams: Brighton vs. Manchester City

• Location: Amex Stadium, Brighton, England

• Date and Time: Sunday 31st August, 9am ET

• How to Watch: Peacock Premium