Of course, it was a crucial match for Manchester City. Pep Guardiola has a good chance to stop his team's streak of bad results after two unwanted defeats in the last two matches, the chance of winning is good because Manchester City is playing at home.
Brighton is not a weak team and their goal statistics in the last 8 matches seem to have warned everyone that they are capable of being a threat to any team. Manchester City's defense will have to be very wary of Brighton's players if they don't want to concede, but I believe that Manchester City has no doubts in this match. I don't consider Manchester City to lose points at home, in fact I'm not sure about a draw.
In the last meeting between these two teams last season, the match ended with a score of 1-1, at that time Manchester City was held to a draw at Brighton's headquarters. We know very well that Brighton often makes things difficult for the big teams who meet them. However, City is a much tougher team than De Zerbi's squad. Moreover, this match was held at the Etihad, City's headquarters. Apart from that, several players who were injured and suspended due to red cards are ready to return to play with their teammates. Also, Pep will not let his team experience defeat for the umpteenth time. which means, City will target full points to move back to the top of the Premier League standings.
However, after this match, City will play their match in the near future on the third matchday of the Chanpions League group stage against Young Boy in an away match. However, it doesn't matter because City have scored 6 points from the previous two matches. Even without De Bruyne who is suffering from a long injury, they will still play a good game and are targeting victory over Brighton.
On the other hand, in the last 4 matches played by De Zerbi's squad. they did not achieve positive results, two matches with defeats and two with a draw. Uniquely, this team often troubles strong opponents. Even in the previous match, De Zerbi's team was able to hold Liverpool to a draw. If I can be honest, as an Arsenal supporter, I want this match to end in a draw or defeat for City. However, if we talk from a betting perspective and the quality of City's players, they have a high probability of winning even though so far they have not shown their best version of the game.