The Egyptian forward is joined by Rico Lewis, Ilkay Gundogan and Stefan Ortega Moreno in the starting XI, with Ederson not fully fit and Phil Foden, Matheus Nunes and Bernardo all dropping to the bench.
The Seagulls arrive with an impressive away record.
Fabian Hürzeler’s side have won six, drawn four and lost four of their 14 games on the road, scoring 25 goals and conceding 24.
It should be an entertaining contest!
LINE-UPS
CITY: Ortega, Lewis, Khusanov, Dias (C), Gvardiol, Nico, Gundogan, Savinho, Marmoush, Doku, Haaland
Subs: Carson, Kovacic, Grealish, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Reis, Nunes, Foden, McAtee
BRIGHTON: Verbruggen, Hinshelwood, Webster (C), van Hecke, Estupinian, Baleba, Gomez, Minteh, Georginio, Mitoma, Joao Pedro
Subs: Rushworth, Cashin, Slater, Gruda, Knight, Wieffer, Ayari, Welbeck, Adingra
POSSIBLE TACTICS/FORMATION
Ortega Moreno will have Lewis (right-back) and Josko Gvardiol (left-back) in front of him, with Ruben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov as the central defensive pairing.
Nico will pin a midfield three that also includes Gundogan and a more advanced Marmoush.
Savinho and Jeremy Doku will play down either flank, interchanging at various stages with Erling Haaland as the central striker.
So, 4-3-3 on paper, with tactical tweaks when needed.
Blues chase Top 5 finish
By the exceptional standards City have set over the past decade or so, this season has, at times, been challenging.
Injuries have decimated the Blues and our form has suffered as a result – but as we go into the last 10 Premier League games, there is still everything to play for.
With a top five finish highly likely to yield a Champions League spot, that is undoubtedly Pep Guardiola’s main target – plus the potential to progress in the FA Cup.
GET YOUR CHELSEA v CITY LEAGUE CUP FINAL TICKETS
There is a ruck of teams all trying to claim a position at European’s competition’s top table, including today’s opponents Brighton.
Experience in the season run-in is bound to count and one thing the Blues have in bucketloads is the ability to manage the final months of the campaign.
Beating the Seagulls would be the perfect start to the final 10 league matches – but City know the visitors are a dangerous and in-form side.
It will be anything but easy!
STATS & MILESTONES
City have never lost a home league match against Brighton (W12 D2), winning each of the last 10 in a row. It’s the most they’ve faced an opponent at home without ever losing in their league history (14).
Brighton are looking to complete their first ever league double over City, in what is the 15th different campaign in which they’ve met.
Both of Brighton’s Premier League victories against City have been from behind – only Manchester United (3) have won more games against Pep Guardiola despite trailing in the competition.
City have lost nine Premier League games this season, the joint-most league defeats that Pep Guardiola has suffered in a campaign in his managerial career (also 9 in 2019-20). The last reigning champions to lose 10+ Premier League games in a season were Chelsea in 2017-18 (10), while Man City last suffered 10 league defeats in a season in 2015-16 (10).
Brighton are currently enjoying the longest ongoing winning run in the Premier League of any side (4 games). It’s the Seagulls’ longest league winning run since April 2017 in the Championship (5), and joint-longest ever in the top-flight (also 4 from April-May 1981).
City striker Erling Haaland has been involved in 99 Premier League goals in just 93 appearances (83 goals, 16 assists). A goal or assist in this game (or indeed any of his next six appearances) will see him become the first player to reach 100 goal involvements in fewer than 100 games.
Having scored six goals in his first four Premier League appearances in 2025, Man City’s Phil Foden is now without a goal in his last five. However, he’s scored more Premier League goals against Brighton than any other opponent (8).
João Pedro has scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances, with no Brighton player ever doing four in a row. Meanwhile, the only Brazilian player to score in four consecutive Premier League games is Richarlison (twice, in March 2021 and April 2024).
