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Thursday 003 Premier League Round 29 Make-up Match
[11] Brighton vs Manchester City[3]
Time: 03:00, April 26
Manchester city
It's a matchup between two of the Premier League's best teams on the ball. In terms of possession per game, Manchester City are the kings at 62.4 per cent, followed by Brighton at 59.1 per cent, not by Arsenal and Liverpool, who are competing with them for the title. They suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium this season and kept City at 55 per cent possession, significantly below average. Pep Guardiola said before the game: "Considering the way they play, the away game against Brighton has been one of the toughest games. "There's a polite component, but it's not quite.
▲Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has a record of 12 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss against Brighton 14 times, and 2 wins and 1 draw against Brighton led by De Zerbi 3 times.
In fact, since Brighton made their first top-flight appearance in 2017/18, they have been completely crushed by Manchester City in 13 Premier League and FA Cup matches, with one win, one draw and 12 defeats. The only draw came in the final game of last season, but at that time Manchester City had already won the title early and was not indicative.
The 'Seagulls' boss De Zer said before the game: 'They're tired? I don't think they played Chelsea last Saturday and then Thursday, they're used to playing so many games. 'It has to be mentioned because City have played six games in the previous 18 days, then suffered a Champions League exit and had a tough FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea last weekend. Anyone who plays football should understand that there is too much difference between 3 days and 5 days of rest and preparation.
Pep Guardiola's pre-match press conference also revealed the team's injury information: "Haaland is not a big problem, but he is not ready, he will not play in this game. Stones and Foden can. Erling Haaland was out of last weekend's FA Cup, while Foden started the full game but was rumored to be a little unwell after the game.
▲Pep Guardiola confirmed that Haaland will continue to be sidelined due to injury, having scored 20 goals in the Premier League this season, but Haaland has only scored six goals in 11 meetings with BIG6 teams this season, three of which have been sent to Manchester United.
Erling Haaland certainly continues to be the most talked-about, having been inactive in the previous two-legged tie against Real Madrid, and he has been criticised for his exit from the Premier League, and even his place in the Premier League's top scorer has been strongly challenged by the likes of Palmer and Watkins. His absence, of course, is a huge loss for Manchester City, but is it an irreparable loss?
The numbers don't lie. After Haaland arrived last season, he missed a total of nine Premier League games, seven of which City won at a rate of 77.8 per cent. In the 61 league games he played, Manchester City won 43 of them, a win rate of just 70.5 per cent. If there is a gap, it is goals, and when he is there, Manchester City averages 2.4 goals per game and 2.3 in his absence, so the difference is actually very small.
For Haaland, who is tied for the most expensive place in football at the moment, this is somewhat embarrassing. However, this is not an accident. In Pep Guardiola's tactics, his status has never been high. There may be fans who disagree with this, after all, Haaland's goal rate is there, but when have you ever seen a current footballer with such a low touch rate in the game? Guardiola's absolute obsession with ball control is also destined to make Haaland, who has relatively poor skills and coordination ability at his feet, lack the opportunity to touch the ball, so in many games, especially when De Bruyne is not there, there are shots of Haaland sprinting forward with all his might, but his teammates make a sudden stop, and then come back or cross.
▲Brighton's current injury list reaches 10 players, most of whom are the absolute main force of the team, which has a great impact on their strength, which is the direct cause of their recent poor results.
Guardiola's starting line should not be very different from last weekend, but it is estimated that Akanji will no longer be the "central midfielder", Stones is the most suitable for this position in this set of 3241 tactics, and the central defender Dias who was resting at that time should replace Akanji's starting position, which is Manchester City's more comfortable passing and control configuration, Stones' midfield combing ability is much stronger than Akanji, and Alvarez in the front field also makes Manchester City have one more contact point in the front field to a certain extent, which Haaland does not have.
It's not that Haaland can't do it, it's just that with him and without him, the team's style of play is somewhat different, and it doesn't necessarily affect the team's efficiency. The last time Haaland was absent in the league, Manchester City thrashed Villa 4-1 and Foden scored a hat-trick. Another mention should be made of Kevin De Bruyne, who has scored seven of his nine league goals this season in six away games, including all three goals and four assists. He averaged 43 minutes per game away from home to produce a goal, terrible efficiency. It's not without reason, though, that City tend to get comparatively more space away from home, which is more in line with De Bruyne, who likes to take risks and threaten the ball.
Of course, if it is away against a full-blooded Brighton, Manchester City may not play so easily, but the "Seagulls" have recently suffered another injury attack, in addition to Kaoru Mitoma, March, Milner and Gilmour and other old injuries, the injured left-back Estupinian in the last round has been reimbursed early for the season, striker Evan Ferguson has not recovered from an ankle injury, and the other striker Enciso must also be on the field to be sure, De Zerbi is too difficult.
After exiting Europe nearly a month and a half ago, Brighton drew two and lost three in four league games, drawing two relegation teams Brentford and Burnley, and losing to Liverpool and Arsenal. Want to be the judge of the top three championships? They don't have that ability yet, and there is a high probability that the rain and dew will be evenly wet, and they will all give three points! They lost 0-3 against Arsenal in the last game, and this time it will not be any better. Let's have a 1-3, 0-2.