‘There will be doubt’: Paul Merson drops interesting Man City prediction ahead of Brighton clash

Pundit Paul Merson has shared his prediction for Manchester City’s upcoming Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion.

After losing their two previous Premier League games prior to the recent international break, the Manchester club are back in action with a home clash against Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

Pep Guardiola’s side went into the international break in third, having lost consecutive league games for the first time since December 2018.

Arsenal left it late to take all three points in the crucial clash at the Emirates a fortnight ago, with that defeat following a 2-1 loss at Wolves the prior weekend.

Manchester City return to Premier League action on Saturday when they host Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad.

Looking ahead to this match, Paul Merson has had his say on how he feels proceedings at the Etihad Stadium will turn out on this occasion.

Written in his weekly column for Sportskeeda where he previewed this weekend’s Premier League games, Merson had this to say about Saturday’s clash against Brighton.

He said: “You never know what you’re going to get with Brighton – they’re a bag of rebels. Brighton are the one team that City didn’t want to play this weekend. A lot of the other teams go to the Etihad to lie down and get their stomachs tickled.

“Brighton won’t care about the occasion, however, and they’ll go out and play their own way. This is a big game for Manchester City. They’ve lost three of their last four matches, and there will be doubt in their mind. They follow this up with matches against Man United, Liverpool, and Chelsea – this is an important juncture of the season for them.

“If Man City lose this game, they’ll drop to third place in the Premier League. They aren’t used to losing a lot of games. Brighton will play their own way, but I don’t see City dropping points in this match.”