Man City - Home, Falmer years
Manager - PEP GUARDIOLA (2016-19).
Record to Aug '19: P174 W127 D24 L23. Wins = 72.9%
MAN CITY PREM records from 11/12 to 18/19; 1, 2, 1, 2, 4, 3, 1, 1. Best finish = 1st, Worst finish = 4th, Ave finish = 2nd.
C21; Ave = 7th (18yrs), TITLE - 4 times, Runners-up - 2 times, Top four - 9 times, Top ten - 14 times from 18, Relegated - 1 time.
Etihad Ave Gate; 54K, Cap; 55K
Recent managers; Pep Guardiola (2016-19), Manuel Pelligrini (2013-16), Roberto Mancini (2009-13)
PODIUMS; 18/19 - Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea. 17/18 - Man City, Man Utd, Tottenham. 16/17 - Chelsea, Spurs, Man City. 14/15 - Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal. 13/14 - Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea. 12/13 - Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea. 11/12 - Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal.

CITY FANS Expectations - to win titles & cups again following great success in very recent seasons.
Odds @ start: title 4-7, top NW 4-9, PG first for sack 100/1

CITY AWAY;
19/20 - P4 W3 D0 L1 F13 A5 GD+7 Pt9 Po2 = 2.25pt/gm or 56.2% of total points. Wins 75%, Loss 25%
18/19 - P19 W14 D2 L3 F38 A11 GD+27 Pt44 Po1 = 2.31pt/gm or 44.8% of total points. Wins = 73.6%, Loss = 15.7% - Pep Guardiola.
17/18 - P19 W16 D2 L1 F45 A13 GD+32 Pt50 Po1 = 2.63pt/gm or 50% of total points. Wins = 84.2%, Loss = 5.2% - Pep Guardiola.
16/17 - P19 W12 D2 L5 F43 A22 GD+21 Pt38 Po3 (Po2 away) = 2.00pt/gm or 48.7% of total points. Away wins = 63.1% - Pep Guardiola.
15/16 - P19 W7 D7 L5 F24 A20 GD+4 Pt28 Po4 = 1.47pt/gm or 42.4% of total points. Wins = 36.8% - Manuel Pellegrini.
14/15 - P19 W10 D4 L5 F39 A24 GD+15 Pt34 Po2 = 1.78pt/gm or 43% of total points. Wins = 52.6% - Manuel Pellegrini.
13/14 - P19 W10 D4 L5 F39 A24 GD+15 Pt34 Po1 = 1/78pt/gm or 39.5% of total points. Wins = 52.6% - Manuel Pellegrini.

Season9 Premeir League (H) Sat 25/4/20 -
This was the penultimate home fixture and one of four top-six sides for BHA to host during the run-in. The question was - where exactly were those points coming from?

stats: shape, ht, goals, poss %-%, on target, off target, corners, fouls, yeloows, subs. MoM - . Gate - . Weather - .
1 Ryan, subs - 27 Button,
Prem: P . W D L . F A . W D L . F A . Pt Po = pt/gm. Wins = %, Loss = %

Man City:
Start: P8 W5 D1 L2 F27 A9 GD+18 Pt16 Po2 = 2.00pt/gm. Wins = 62.5%, Loss = 25%
Champions League: group - Shakhtar 0-3 (A), D Zagreb 2-0 (H), Atalanta
EFL Cup: 4th rnd - Southampton (H), 3rd rnd - Preston 0-3 (A)
FA Cup:
Aug; unbeaten but chasing Liverpool for top spot like last term.
Oct:
New Year:
March:

Season8 Premier League (H) Sunday 12/5/19 - L 1-4
This was the very last game of all in the second PL campaign. And Albion had already played City twice this season; away in the first Prem fixture and recently in a FA Cup semi-final tie at Wembley during mid April - also see away section. The situation now was that BHA had already survived to figure a third term in the elite, while City had to equal rival Liverpool's score to take the title again.
In a nutshell, Albion were thrashed and at end of the day winners win and losers... Anyway, Seagulls opened the scoring from Murray at a Gross corner (27min) but after that it went downhill quickly. City equalised straight away (28min) and took the lead prior to halftime with a corner routine (38min). The second period was pretty much one way traffic and champions elect turned on the class to score twice again (63 & 72mins) and thus retain the title. Bruno was subbed late and received a standing ovation as he'd already announced his retirement before the match. Chris Hughton said, 'the summer will be big for us, to analyse where we could do better. We need to do better next year and will work hard to do that.' The next day he was sacked by Tony Bloom who said, 'I wish Chris, Paul (Trollope) and Paul (Nevin) every success for the future and thank them on behalf of everyone at the club.' Brighton fans were left in shock but by & large could understand Bloom's reasons for taking action, given his ambition to make Albion a regular Prem outfit. And not just fighting threats of the dreaded drop year on year. The club had come from 'gutter to the stars' right on thru this century and Bloom intended to remain comfortable in the elite for many a year to come.
Stats; ht 1-2, goals 27-28,38,63,72, shape 451-433, poss 24%-76%, on target 2-9, off target 4-11, o/s 1-1, corners 2-6, fouls 12-8, yellows 0-0, subs 3-3. Gate 30,662. Weather - sunny. MoM - Bruno
1 Ryan, 2 Bruno (22 Montoya 84), 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo, 11 Knockaert, 13 Gross, 7 Kayal, 8 Bissouma, 16 Jahanbakhsh (9 Locadia 67), 17 Murray (10 Andone 67) . Subs -
Prem P38 . W6 D5 L8 . F18 A24 . W3 D3 L1 . F15 A31 . Pt35 Po17 = pt/gm. Wins = %, Loss = %

Season8 FA Cup S-F @ Wembley - 6/4/19 - L 1-0
See report in 'away' section below.

Total; P38 W32 D2 L4 F95 A23 GD+72 Pt98 Po1 = 2.57pt/gm. Wins = 84.2%, Loss = 10.5%
3qtrs; P29 W23 D2 L4 F76 A20 GD+56 Pt71 Po1 = 2.44pt/gm. Wins = 79.3%, Loss = 13.7%
Hlfwy; P19 W14 D2 L3 F51 A15 GD+36 Pt44 Po3 = 2.31pt/gm. Wins = 73.6%, Loss = 15.7% - Guardiola.
Start; P10 W8 D2 L0 F27 A3 GD+24 Pt26 Po1 = 2.60pt/gm. Wins = 80%, Loss = 0%
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE; qf - Spurs 1-0 (A) 4-3 (H), 16 - Schalke 2-3 (A) 7-0 (H). Group F - Shaktar 0-3 (A) 6-0 (H), Lyon 1-2 (H) 2-2 (A), Hoffenheim 1-2 (A) 2-1 (H).
EFL CUP; won final - Chelsea 0-0 aet 4-3 pens, s-f - Burton 9-0 (H) 0-1 (A), q-f - Leics 1-3 pens 1-1 (A), 4th rnd - Fulham 2-0 (H),
3rd rnd - Oxford 0-3 (A)
FA CUP; won final - Watford 6-0, s-f - Brighton 1-0, q-f - Swansea 2-3 (A), 5th rnd - Newport 1-4 (A), 4th rnd - Burnley 5-0 (H),
3rd rnd - Rotherham 7-0 (H)
Aug; target is not to lose anything home & abroad. The law of averages (for accumulators) would decide which events effectively follow cause & effect.
October; unbeaten & vying at top of the table with title rivals Liverpool. Still in EFL Cup.
New Year; small dip in very best form but beat Liverpool and so challenging for top spot. FA Cup progress.
March; in a match with L'pool for title. Champ Lg q-f, FA Cup semis, EFL Cup winners.

Season7 Premier League (H) 12/8/17 - L 0-2
It was a lovely day in August and Brighton fans began arriving at the Amex exterior concourses & internal bars during long hours prior to a Saturday teatime kickoff. Playing in the Premier League had become reality and this was opening day on a journey into the unknown. Chris Hughton, banked by Tony Bloom to the tune of 35million and counting, had gotten in several new faces from European footy. Maty Ryan, Pascal Gross, Markus Suttner & Davy Propper were four such players now debuting in the elite. Izzy Brown also came in on loan from Chelsea. Whether the squad as a whole could cut the mustard here and on the road in future was quite open to conjecture - bookies had BHA at 5-4 2nd fav to go down. But Chris Hughton was believably merely 20/1 to get sacked.
Albion held out against title favs for 70 minutes before conceding and in truth never looked like they could compete over & above a hopeful stalemate. Brown was injured and replaced by Murphy halfway thru the initial period. Hughton swapped Hemed for Murray on the hour and immediately following the second goal, pulled off March for Knockaert. City caught Seagulls out of shape in m-f and had men spare to force the first score (70min). Dunk then headed past Ryan from a high centre five minutes later (75min). Both clubs were previously used to winning but expectation for the future was radically polarized today. The hosts were timid compared to visitors and most of the play was in Brighton's half. Speed of thought, action and execution prevailed from City's game plan. They pushed the ball about, patient for an opening to develop. When chances came they took them. It was a steep learning curve for BHA, club, team & fans alike.
Stats; shape 4411-3142, ht 0-0, goals 70,75, poss 22%-78%, on target 2-4, off target 2-5, blocks 2-5, crosses 8-27, corners 3-10, o/s 6-1, tackles 11-10, fouls 6-9, yellows 0-2, subs 3-3. Attendance 30,415 - ground record (away 3025).
1 Ryan, 2 Bruno, 22 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 29 Suttner, 20 March (11 Knockaert), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 37 Brown (15 Murphy), 13 Gross, 10 Hemed (17 Murray).
Prem P1 . W0 D0 L1 . F0 A2 . Pt0 Po19

Total; P38 W32 D4 L2 F106 A27 GD+79 Pt100 Po1 = 2.63pt/gm. Wins = 84.2%, Loss = 5.2% - Pep Guardiola. R2 Y60
3qtrs; P29 W25 D3 L1 F83 A20 GD+63 Pt78 Po1 = 2.68pt/gm. Wins = 86.2%, Loss = 3.4%
Hlfwy; P19 W18 D1 L0 F60 A12 GD+48 Pt55 Po1 = 2.89pt/gm. Wins = 94.7%, Loss = 0%
Start; P10 W9 D1 L0 F35 A6 GD+29 Pt28 Po1 = 2.80pt/gm. Wins = 90%, Loss = 0%
Aug - a big bid for the title, get to finals abroad and picking up the odd cup too.
New Year - all the four trophies are still a possiblity.
March - title in the bag. EFL Cup finalists. Knocked out of FA Cup by a League One side. Champions League Q-F.

PREVIOUS PREM;
18/19 - P38 W32 D2 L4 F95 A23 GD+72 Pt98 Po1 = 2.57pt/gm. Wins = 84.2%, Loss = 10.5%
A mega season recorded by any Prem standards, including winning FA Cup & League Cup to boot.
17/18 - P38 W32 D4 L2 F106 A27 GD+79 Pt100 Po1 = 2.64pt/gm. Wins = 84.2%, Loss = 5.2% - Pep Guardiola.
PG burst onto the Prem scene last season with a big reputation in Europe. In the event things went from being a tad flat to the Spaniard now crowned king of the Prem at very least.
16/17 - P38 W23 D9 L6 F80 A39 GD+41 Pt78 Po3 = 2.05pt/gm. Wins = 60.5%, Draws = 23.6%, Loss = 15.7%, CS = 32% - Pep Guardiola.
Team, manager & fans expected success, so was 3rd place a disappointment and no cups to boot? Bet your bottom Euro it was!
15/16 - P38 W19 D9 L10 F71 A41 GD+30 Pt66 Po4 = 1.73pt/gm. Wins = 50% - Manuel Pelligrini.
Finishing fourth as Citizens commitment to the cause imploded, highlighted the end for the manager after a 3 year turn on the Manchester merrygoround.
14/15 - P38 W24 D7 L7 F83 A38 GD+45 Pt79 Po2 = 2.07pt/gm. Wins = 63.1% - Manuel Pelligrini (P108 W69 D15 L24 Wins = 63.8%)
The Chilean coach was runner-up but Citizens were apparently nowhere as 2nd best, in a division where no.1 is all & everything.
13/14 - P38 W27 D5 L6 F102 A37 GD+65 Pt86 Po1 = 2.26pt/gm. Wins = 71% - Manuel Pelligrini.
Critics of Roberto Mancini's 12/13 squad expansion & management, or rather supposed lack of both, were placated by 'better' results from equally capable Manuel Pelligrini.

FA CUP from 13/14; q-f, 4th rnd, 5th rnd, s-f, q-f, winners.
LEAGUE CUP; winners, 4th rnd, winners, 4th rnd, winners, winners.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE; last 16, last 16, s-f, last 16, q-f, q-f.
* * * * *

Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011.
Season10 08/9 - EFL Cup (H).

Man City - Away, Falmer years
CITY @ HOME;
19/20 - P4 W2 D1 L1 F14 A4 GD+10 Pt7 Po2 = 1.75pt/gm or 43.7% of total points. Wins = 50%, Loss = 25%
18/19 - P19 W18 D0 L1 F57 A12 GD+45 Pt54 Po1 = 2.84pt/gm or 55.1% of total points. Wins = 94.7%, Loss = 5.2% - Pep Guardiola.
17/18 - P19 W16 D2 L1 F61 A14 GD+47 Pt50 Po1 = 2.63pt/gm or 50% of total points. Wins = 84.2%, Loss = 5.2% - Pep Guardiola.
16/17 - P19 W11 D7 L1 F37 A17 GD+20 Pt40 Po3 (Po6 home) = 2.10pt/gm or 51.2% of total points. Home wins = 57.8% - Pep Guardiola.
15/16 - P19 W12 D2 L5 F47 A21 GD+26 Pt38 Po4 = 2.00pt/gm or 57.5% of total points. Wins = 63.1% - Manuel Pellegrini.
14/15 - P19 W14 D3 L2 F44 A14 GD+30 Pt45 Po2 = 2.36pt/gm or 56.9% of total points. Wins = 73.6% - Manuel Pellegrini.
13/14 - P19 W17 D1 L1 F63 A13 GD+50 Pt52 Po1 = 2.73pt/gm or 60.4% of total points. Wins = 89.4% - Manuel Pellegrini.

Season9 Premier League (A) Sat 31/8/19 - L 4-0
The good news beforehand was we'd get this tough away match put to bed early on our excursions. The bad news was BHA were scheduled to visit four more top-six giants by first week of December and the fifth on Boxing Day. That meant a long haul, in all senses, to go gather such invaluable points from travels on the road. In fact Chelsea were scheduled next month and then from early Nov things looked difficult. Man Utd, Liverpool & Arsenal came in a row to further test team & travelling support on the biggest metropolitan PL stages.
Goals went into Albion's net at 2,42,55 & 79 minutes to not only test belief but also credibility in the method employed under Potter for advancing BHA on the long road ahead toward a proposed future 'top-ten' Prem position. We know each journey begins with a single step but this appeared one giant leap for Seagulls-kind at such an early stage in progression. Tony Bloom, his face alternately a blue & white vision of exasperation & agony in many a directors box last term, wanted positive change to match such lofty ambition. But like supportive Brighton fans, could merely put on a brave smile today. It wasn't that Albion just parked the bus or couldn't play offensive football, indeed even Pep Guardiola was full of praise, however one thing stood out... no goals scored. So in a sense this became a practice match, irrespective of the result, in order to get up to speed for meeting teams (apart from top six) we might actually take points from over coming months. Potter said, 'the performance was one of real courage. We wanted to test ourselves against the very best and can take something from it.' All very well but reducing the title-holders possession to nearer parity wasn't enough to hold back the onrushing tide of meaningful, direct & high quality goal-scoring options. Against lesser opposition we'd surely need to keep a clean sheet. And to win, find the net by any means available. No strategy would define how many goals any particular set-up could get, that was down to individuals capable of doing such at this level.
Stats; shape 433-541, h-t 2-0, goals 2,42,55,79, poss 54%-46%, on target 6-2, off target 8-1, blocks 1-3, crosses 15-10, corners 8-1, o/s 1-3, tackles 15-17, fouls 10-6, yellows 1-1, subs 3-3. Gate 54,386, away 1506. Weather - sun & showers. MoM - Stephens.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya, 15 Webster, 5 Dunk Y, 33 Burn, 30 Bernardo (17 Murray 67), 11 Trossard (13 Gross 74), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 20 March, 7 Maupay (44 Connolly 67). Subs - 27 Button, 4 Duffy, 18 Mooy, 16 Jahanbakhsh.
Prem P4 . W0 D1 L1 . F1 A3 . W1 D0 L 1. F3 A4 . Pt4 Po16 = 1.00pt/gm. Wins = 25%, Loss = 50%

Season8 (A) FA Cup semi-final @ Wembley - 6/4/19 - L 1-0
The story so far was that previously Albion had fortunately beaten Championship strugglers Millwall at the Den on penalties aet in the q-f tie to reach the final four. They then were last ball out of the draw bowl and therefore pitched against mighty City by default. But it hadn't been too hard a pathway to get here, as apart from beating Lions, Seagulls had also serially defeated fellow level2 outfits Rams at the Amex, Baggies aet in replay at the Hawthorns and PL club Cherries at the Vitality stadium to boot. Those 4 victories had seen us progress with more than a fair sprinkling of good luck and now many considered this an early evening bit of indulgence wearing blue & white (we won that toss at least), being up for the cup at Wembley but with very little hope of returning to the national stad during May.
Albion got knocked out in the first five minutes. Clinical play thru our gaps got City the winner early doors (4min). But Seagulls, backed by around 35k fans in the national stadium, didn't fold and tried to make a game of it. We were on a hiding to nothing either way but strung a few passes together when not actually defending. Hughton put Andone, Izquierdo & Locadia into the mix, although getting a goal back seemed just as hard at the end as beginning. Duffy pushed up late with twin strikers but to no avail for netting an equaliser. Hughton said, 'we have done especially well to regroup after going behind so early. I can't believe there were too many people thought they wouldn't win two or three nil. It's incredibly difficult against them. If you open up thinking to score 2 or 3, they will score 5 or 6.' Brighton fans had a nice day out, applauded the team at the death with a standing ovation then discussed the forthcoming Prem survival battle at the Amex next week.
Stats; ht 1-0, goal 4, shape 433-4141, poss 70%-29%, on target 4-2, off target 5-3, blocks 4-0, o/s 0-1, crosses 30-15, corners 9-4, tackles 15-9, fouls 13-7, yellows 2-2, subs 3-3. MoM - Knockaert. Gate; 72,521 away 34,155. Weather - cool & dry.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk Y72, 30 Bernardo, 8 Bissouma (Locadia 82), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 11 Knockaert, 17 Murray (10 Andone 65), 16 Jahanbakhsh Y32 (19 Izquierdo 70) Subs - 27 Button, 2 Bruno, 3 Bong, 33 Burn.

Season8 Premier League (A) Sat 29/9/18 - L 2-0
Games at title holders don't come much harder, considering Albion's opening 2 months fixtures this term. We'd already played Man Utd 3-2, Fulham 2-2 & Spurs 1-2 (H), Watford 2-0, Liverpool 1-0 & Soton 2-2 (A) and now visited City, just a few weeks since being outclassed here at very end of last term. History suggested another defeat but each game started back at zero, so in a sense what happened previously was only on paper, rather than grass. BHA was behind schedule points-wise, being less than 1pt/gm minimum average, therefore needed to try and keep a first clean sheet for a start.
Everything changes and nothing changes, in so far as it was early in the season rather than late but the result was yet another away defeat. City ran rings round us, especially on the counter which provided both goals. Seagulls defended desperately at times but sheer weight of stats told against holding it down to nil-nil. And up front we didn't turn up again. The first went in after losing the ball going forward and chasing back to no avail when outpaced (29min). The second was a similar burst of speed with tiki-taka movement as per Guardiola's Barca mantra (65min). Albion offered little in offensive opposition. Hughton introduced 3 late subs but the game was up well prior to a trademark token effort by visitors at the death. Hughton said, 'you can get beat big here. I'm most disappointed with their second - we should have stopped it.' Brighton fans could see the gulf in quality and were coming to realise what was required at this level just to stay in the game, let alone score goals. We hoped BHA squad players would take those standards on board as well.
Stats; shape 433-451, h-t 1-0, goals 29,65, poss 80%-20%, on target 8-1, off target 13-1, blocks 7-2, crosses 29-8, corners 10-3, o/s 0-2, tackles 15-15, fouls 4-10, yellows 0-3, subs 3-3. Gate 54,152, away 2809.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya Y87, 4 Duffy Y42, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong, 11 Knockaert Y9 (16 Jahanbakhsh 79), 7 Kayal, 8 Bissouma, 24 Propper, 20 March (19 Izquierdo 84), 9 Locadia (17 Murray 70). Subs - 27 Button, 2 Bruno, 30 Bernardo, 14 Balogun.
Prem P7 . W1 D1 L1 . F6 A6 . W0 D1 L 3. F2 A7 . Pt5 Po14 = 0.71pt/gm. Wins = 14.2%, Loss = 57.1%

Season7 Premier League (A) Wednesday 9/5/18 - L 3-1 ~ Ulloa
This fixture was originally listed for Sat 17 March but got rescheduled due to Albion's FAC Q-F tie played on that date and then delayed yet again because of City's busy Champions League commitments. In the event BHA latterly went to the runaway title winners already safe from the drop and not needing any points at all to stay up for a further term in the PL. Beforehand Brighton fans breathed a sigh of relief for that mercy, knowing club, team & support could face this May fixture with much less intensity, after our own season of relative success for the previous elite league new boys.
Albion were outclassed on the night and predictably couldn't hold a candle to title winners. City opened the scoring with a typical run & pass while visitors stood around watching (16min). But Seagulls hit back quickly when Ulloa headed home Proppers cross (20min). They were behind again prior to h-t when once more opened up a little too easily & given the run around (34min). In the second period there was only one winner as the home team grabbed a third from a short corner routine (72min). Hughton immediately sent on Kayal & Locadia and later March but the game was up long ago. He said, 'at 2-1 we we still in it and had opportunities to break. They press so quickly to get possession and it's very difficult. The 3rd goal hurt us the most.' Brighton fans weren't too distraught with the result and to date we'd not been beat by more than two goals on the long road around PL grounds. At end of the day Albion had the chance to do all those miles again next term and maybe improve poor away form to boot.
Stats; shape 433-4411, ht 2-1, goals 16,34,76-20, poss 74%-26%, on target 7-3, off target 8-3, corners 4-3, o/s 1-2, fouls 5-7, yellows 0-1, subs 3-3. Gate 54,013
1 Ryan, 2 Bruno, 22 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bruno, 6 Stephens, 13 Gross (7 Kayal 73), 24 Propper, 11 Knockaert, 16 Ulloa (25 Locadia 73), 19 Izquierdo (20 March 79).
Prem P 37 . W 9 D 13 L 15 . F 34 A 50 . Pt 40 Po 14