Brighton vs Man City highlights: Reaction as Guardiola sends title race warning to Arsenal
Pep Guardiola’s men can close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the table
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Manchester City kept their hunt for an unprecedented fourth successive title on track with a completely dominant 4-0 win at Brighton.
After securing their place in the FA Cup final, with a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday, Pep Guardiola’s team continued their title challenge in emphatic fashion.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring after just 16 minutes with a stunning header, before Phil Foden netted his 50th Premier League goal just after the half hour mark.
The England international added his second shortly afterwards and Julian Alvarez wrapped up the scoring with a well-timed fourth.
While Brighton might feel aggrieved that they did not have two penalties. There was one shout as Gross was pulled back inside the box, and a second for a clumsy foul by Gvardiol on Joao Pedro, but VAR did not extensively review the deicisons, or send the referee to the monitor.
City are still the favourites to lift the trophy as they still have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta’s side and only trail by one point.
After securing European football for the first time in the club’s history last year, the Seagulls are still in with a chance of repeating that feat, although their chances took a significant dent with the heavy defeat.
Follow all the action below plus get the latest odds and Brighton vs Man City predictions here.
A closer look at Man City’s title run in
There will be no repeat of the treble, after City were knocked out of the Champions League on penalties by Real Madrid, but the double is still on. Defeats for Liverpool and Arsenal last weekend left the champions in control of the title race, and now they have a favourable run ahead of them after hitting the front
City, after all, have been here before and their Premier League fixtures are looking more favourable now those games against Liverpool and Arsenal are out of the equation. It leaves a trip to Tottenham, where City have never won in the Premier League under Guardiola, as their toughest fixture of the run-in. The Gunners could do with a favour from their north London rivals, there.
Premier League title race: Who has the best fixtures – Man City, Arsenal or Liverpool?
The Premier League is heading for a classic title race, with Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal set for a three-way battle as we enter the final weeks of the season.
Or is it down to two? Liverpool’s defeat to Everton on Wednesday was the third time in four Premier League games in which Jurgen Klopp’s side have dropped points, and it all but eliminated Liverpool from the title race with just four games to go.
With City in action in the FA Cup semi-finals last weekend, both Arsenal and Liverpool were left with two games to play before City’s next Premier League fixture. Arsenal did their job, beating Wolves away and then thrashing Chelsea to move four points clear of Pep Guardiola’s side,
The champions have two games in hand and will now look to respond at Brighton. Guardiola’s side are aiming to win a fourth league title in a row – a feat that has never been achieved in the history of English football, and the title is still in their hands.
Pep Guardiola lashes out at ‘unacceptable’ scheduling of Man City’s FA Cup semi-final
Pep Guardiola admitted it was “unacceptable” that Manchester City’s 1-0 FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea was scheduled for less than 72 hours after their Champions League defeat to Real Madrid.
City recovered from their European exit on Wednesday night – when they played extra-time against Real before losing on penalties – to edge past Mauricio Pochettino’s side, thanks to a goal in the 84th minute from Bernardo Silva, but they were clearly fatigued at Wembley.
Chelsea had more than enough chances to settle the semi-final in their favour but, as was the case on their last visit here against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, wasteful finishing was their downfall, with Nicolas Jackson the primary culprit.
Yet despite seeing his side reach their third FA Cup final in six seasons, Guardiola’s thoughts were dominated by what he considered to be poor scheduling of the match by the Football Association.
Manchester City players ‘in the fridge’ ahead of key run of games
Pep Guardiola feels his Manchester City players will need to cool off “in the fridge” after their exertions of the past few days.
City responded to last Wednesday’s draining penalty shootout loss to Real Madrid by digging in for a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday.
The win, secured by a late goal from Bernardo Silva, maintained their hope of defending the domestic double but Guardiola later hit out at the scheduling of the fixture.
The City boss felt his players should have been allowed more rest after their European game and he now intends to give them a break before they return to Premier League action at Brighton on Thursday.
“In the fridge for two days,” said Guardiola when asked what his plans were for his squad ahead of the trip to the Amex Stadium.
Brighton vs Man City
The club now have a game in hand on both Arsenal and Liverpool, who are tied at the top of the Premier League on 74 points. The defending champions are one point further back with six league fixtures to go.
Haaland did not feature in the Chelsea win after suffering a muscular problem, while Foden has played nearly 50 times in all competitions since the start of the campaign.
In better news for Guardiola, John Stones was able to take part in training after his half-time withdrawal at Wembley.
The England defender has dealt with a number of injury issues this season but remains a key figure as Manchester City target twin triumphs.
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden sit out Manchester City training ahead of run-in
Phil Foden and Erling Haaland missed the open portion of Manchester City training on Tuesday, putting in doubt their participation in the Premier League fixture against Brighton.
Pep Guardiola’s side continue their pursuit of the title with a trip to the Amex on Thursday as the manager continues to manage a hectic schedule.
After their FA Cup win over Chelsea, Guardiola slammed the “unacceptable” scheduling that forced his side to play the Cup semi-final at Wembley just days after exiting the Champions League on penalties to Real Madrid.
It led him to declare that some of his players would be put “in the fridge” to rest them for the challenges to come with Manchester City still in the hunt for two trophies.
Is Brighton vs Manchester City on TV?
When is it?
Manchester City vs Brighton kicks off at 8pm BST on Thursday, April 25, 2024 and the Amex Community Stadium in Brighton.
How can I watch it?
The match will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League with coverage starting at 7pm. Subscribers can watch the match via the SkyGo website or app.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
Is Brighton vs Manchester City on TV? Kick off time, channel and how watch Premier League fixture
Manchester City booked their place in the FA Cup final with a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday, and will not want to lose points in the race for a Premier League title.
Pep Guardiola’s side will have longer to prepare than some others who played this weekend, and do not travel to the south coast to face Brighton until Thursday.
City had to work hard against Chelsea, and the manager was left angry at the schedule, and argued that the game on Saturday came too soon after his side’s Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid on Wednesday.
After securing European football for the first time in the club’s history last year, the Seagulls are still in with a chance, and are six points behind seventh-placed Manchester United.
Brighton vs Man City
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live build up, team news and coverage of Brighton vs Manchester City, which kicks off at 8pm at the Amex Community Stadium in Brighton.
Early team news
Team news
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Erling Haaland will again miss out due to injury, though both Phil Foden - who missed training earlier in the week - and John Stones are set to be available. Some rotation is likely, though, with Guardiola managing a busy fixture list.
Brighton have a host of injury issues, including Evan Ferguson, Billy Gilmour, James Milner and Adam Webster, although they could return soon. While Kaoru Mitoma and Solly March may not feature again this campaign.
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