Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion, FA Cup Semi-Final: Team News, Preview and Prediction

Competition/Round: 2018/19 FA Cup – Semi-Final

Date/Time: Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion – Saturday, 6 April 2019, 17:30 GMT (UK); 12:30 EST, 09:30 PST (USA)

Venue: Wembley Stadium, London, England, United Kingdom

Match Officials:

Referee: Anthony Taylor

Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn

Fourth Official: Roger East

VAR: Paul Tierney, Andrew Halliday

TV Info: BBC One (UK)

Live Stream: BBC Sport Live (UK); ESPN+ (USA)

Radio: BBC Radio Manchester (UK)

Preview:

Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion will travel to Wembley on Saturday in what will be an entertaining encounter. The two English Premier League sides will compete in the FA Cup Semi-Final, where both teams will look to advance to the competition’s final.

Manchester City have already won the EFL “Carabao” Cup this season, and the Sky Blues will look to add to their trophy cabinet. City manager Pep Guardiola found himself at this stage of the competition two years ago, albeit his side were eliminated by Arsenal in extra time. Guardiola and his men will believe they have learned from this mistake as they prepare for this fixture on Saturday.

It will be no easy match, however, as Brighton & Hove Albion are also celebrating their success in this season’s competition. Brighton’s last appearance in the Semi-Finals came in the mid-1980s, and having been on a hiatus for over thirty years, the Seagulls will look to give it their all in this match.

Team News:

Manchester City are without the injured Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabian Delph. Sergio Agüero will travel with the team, although it is unlikely he will start in this match.

Brighton & Hove Albion’s Solly March, Jason Steele and Pascal Groß are sidelined through injury.

Possible Lineups:

Manchester City

Formation: 4-3-3

Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Danilo; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, D. Silva; Sterling, Jesus, B. Silva

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Brighton & Hove Albion

Formation: 4-3-3

Ryan; Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong; Pröpper, Stephens, Bissouma; Knockaert, Murray, Jahanbakhsh

Manager: Chris Hughton

Prediction:

Manchester City were complacent in the FA Cup Quarter-final match against Swansea City, and their poor performance nearly cost them a place in the semi-final. Having advanced due to a fortunate turn of events, the Sky Blues will give it their all as they hope to advance to a second cup final this season.

Meanwhile, Brighton & Hove Albion will look to play spoiler as they embark on their journey to win silverware this season. The Seagulls avoided their own upset as they defeated Millwall on penalties, but they will face a more difficult test in London on Saturday.

Given their current forms, City will be heavy favourites. But anything is possible in a cup competition, and it is expected the Seagulls will give the Sky Blues a run on Saturday. City will do just enough to edge out the tie, but not without facing a stubborn Brighton side.

Manchester City 3-2 Brighton & Hove Albion