Manchester City are back in action this weekend following what has been a dismal week of results for the club.
Their three previous matches have seen City get knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Tottenham Hotspur, lose to Bournemouth in the Premier League for the first time ever and get handed their first Champions League defeat of the campaign against Sporting CP.
With all of those matches coming away from home, Pep Guardiola’s side are on the road again on Saturday as they take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League for their final match before the November international break.
In the build-up to this game, the Seagulls boss has shared his thoughts on City’s current run of bad results – which Bernardo Silva dubbed a “dark place” for his side.
Fabian Hurzeler eyes big ‘opportunity’ for Brighton to beat Man City
When asked in his press conference about City’s poor run of form and if his Brighton side sees Saturday’s match as a perfect opportunity to take advantage of this form and beat the Blues, Fabian Hurzeler gave this assessment on the matter.
He said: “Against every team there are opportunities. Especially this season, the league is so equal. It’s very, very competitive.
“Everyone can beat everyone and we see it every weekend. That’s why we always see an opportunity. We always see a chance.
“Of course, we have a lot of respect. City is, for me, still the best team in the world, they have the best manager in the world.
“But in the end, it’s a game and we play at home and we want to continue our process and we see this as a next opportunity to challenge the establishment.”
City have already been backed to beat Brighton
Even after seeing Sporting beat them, Danny Murphy backed City to beat Brighton, saying this about what he expects to see from the champions on Saturday.
He said: “I think they’ll go to Brighton at the weekend and beat them. I think they’ll all have a kick up the backside.
“He’ll put [Kevin] De Bruyne back in, he’ll put [Kyle] Walker back in, he’ll put [Nathan] Ake back in, he’ll put [Ilkay] Gundogan back in.
“Because they were all on the bench last night to get back with the squad even if they’re not 100% he’ll put them in. What the best players do and the best managers do is they respond.”
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 25 |
| 2 |  Man CityManchester City | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 23 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| 4 |  ChelseaChelsea | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 18 |
| 5 |  ArsenalArsenal | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 18 |
| 6 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 18 |
| 7 |  TottenhamTottenham | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 16 |
| 8 |  BrightonBrighton | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 16 |
| 9 |  FulhamFulham | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 15 |
| 10 |  B’mouthBournemouth | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 15 |
| 11 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 15 |
| 12 |  BrentfordBrentford | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 13 |
| 13 |  Man UtdManchester United | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 12 |
| 14 |  West HamWest Ham | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 11 |
| 15 |  LeicesterLeicester | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 10 |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 9 |
| 17 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 7 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 21 | -11 | 5 |
| 19 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 4 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 3 |
Even though City have lost three consecutive games for the first time since 2018, the fact that Hurzeler still sees this match as an opportunity for his side to cause an upset regardless of the Manchester club’s form shows just how much belief he has in his Brighton team and the unpredictable nature of the Premier League.
However, from Guardiola and the City supporters’ point of view, they last think they’ll want to see if for the club to make it four defeats on the bounce heading into the November international break.
