“So the pressure is on” - Chris Sutton offers prediction on Manchester City vs Brighton
BBC pundit Chris Sutton has unveiled his prediction ahead of Manchester City's Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion coming up this Thursday. The Englishman backed the Cityzens to secure a 2-0 victory at Falmer Stadium on Thursday, April 25.
Manchester City will continue their quest for the Premier League title this season when they play their 33rd fixture away to Brighton this week. It goes without mentioning that Pep Guardiola's side had a quite busy week last week. They took on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday, losing on penalties. They then beat Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup semi-finals at the weekend.
Sutton admits that fatigue is building up in the Cityzens camp following that exhaustive run but still backs the defending champions to overcome Brighton on Thursday.
"City are, apparently, extremely tired but I looked at their bench for their FA Cup semi-final on Saturday and it wasn't too bad for a team that is so fatigued," the pundit wrote for BBC. "The Brighton of last season would have been very awkward opponents for Manchester City, but I am not so sure they offer the same test this year."
"Still, there is no margin of error for Pep Guardiola's side. They have the advantage in the title race at the moment but even a draw changes things completely at the top of the table, so the pressure is on," Sutton added.
Sutton's prediction: 0-2
The last time Manchester City and Brighton went head-to-head in the Premier League, it ended up proving to be a tight encounter. The Cityzens managed to scrape out a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium back in October.
Premier League title race heating up on Manchester City
Both of the Cityzens' title rivals won their respective league fixtures at the weekend. Arsenal defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 away while Liverpool secured a 3-1 triumph over Fulham away. Both results put more pressure on Pep Guardiola's men to win on Thursday.
As it stands, the Gunners sit atop the table with 74 points from 33 games - the same point tally as Liverpool, who are second based on goal difference. City, meanwhile, are down in third with 73 points in 32 games. They can return to the summit by winning their outstanding fixture on Thursday.
After this round of fixtures, there'll be just five games to round up the Premier League season. It's obvious that there's no space for any slip in the title race, which means that every game is like a final going forward.