Manchester City will aim to build more momentum ahead of the Champions League final when they face Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday.
Having already wrapped up the Premier League title, Pep Guardiola’s men sit 13 points clear at the top of the table with just two games left to play.
🏆 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟱𝟬 𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗕 🏆A fine strike from @DannyWelbeck to join the @PremierLeague's 50 goals club!#BHAFC 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/CWxRNoYSrz— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) May 16, 2021
🏆 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟱𝟬 𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗕 🏆A fine strike from @DannyWelbeck to join the @PremierLeague's 50 goals club!#BHAFC 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/CWxRNoYSrz
At the other end of the standings, Brighton find themselves seventeenth – 45 points behind the newly-crowned champions.
Despite enduring a poor run of just one win seven games, Brighton’s Premier League survival was confirmed thanks to the poor form of Fulham and West Brom.
In fact, the Seagulls have only managed to win three of their previous 14 matches but have managed to avoid relegation.
Having conceded 42 goals, Graham Potter’s side boast the best defensive record in the bottom half of the table.
However, with just 37 goals to their name, Brighton are the sixth-lowest scorers in England’s top division.
The Seagulls secured a 1-1 draw against West Ham last weekend. Danny Welbeck put his aside ahead on 84 minutes, but Said Benrahma equalised shortly after.
On the flip side, Man City sealed a dramatic 4-3 victory over Newcastle on Friday – extending their lead at the summit.
Following Joao Cancelo’s first-half strike, Ferran Torres bagged a brilliant hat-trick to hand his side all three points.
By their own high standards, Guardiola’s men will be disappointed to have lost three of their last nine league matches.
That said, Manchester City have won 21 of their previous 24 league games, so they can’t exactly have too many complaints.
Not only are Man City the highest scorers in the division (76), but they also boast the best defensive record (29).
Head-to-head: Man City have claimed eight straight victories over Brighton since the Seagulls returned to the Premier League in 2017.
Guadriola’s men have netted a whopping 22 goals in that time (2.75 goals per game) and have scored over 3.5 goals in three of their last four meetings.
It is also worth pointing out that Brighton have failed to score against Man City in six of their last eight meetings, while City have kept three straight clean sheets in this fixture.
Team news: Brighton will be without suspended duo Lewis Dunk and Neal Maupay on Tuesday. Solly March, Joel Veltman and Davy Propper are all injured.
Sergio Aguero is a doubt for City’s trip to the south coast, while Kevin De Bruyne is currently being assessed.
When you couple Man City’s current form with their recent record against Brighton, all the signs point towards a straightforward away win on Tuesday.
Forebet predicts that Man City will score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet en route to seeing off Brighton with ease.