Football betting tips: Premier League
1pt Abduqodir Khusanov to be shown a card at 11/2 (General)
0.5pt Nathan Ake to be shown a card at 8/1 (William Hill)
1pt Matheus Nunes to be shown a card at 13/2 (bet365)
0.5pt Nico O'Reilly to be shown a card at 6/1 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt Khusanov and Nunes card double at 40/1 (bet365)
0.1pt Khusanov, Ake, Nunes and O'Reilly to be carded at 1000/1 (bet365)
More than usual, this has felt like a season where the narrative shifts jarringly week to week when it comes to the Premier League title race. Manchester City head into this fixture with their challenge hanging by a thread following successive draws; apparently.
A dominant performance at unbeaten home side Sunderland ended goalless before a 94th-minute equaliser cost them victory against Chelsea.
They did admittedly appear a little jittery in the closing stages at The Etihad, with injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol a contributory factor.
That match, as with the trip to Wearside, ought to have been put to bed but for a host of missed opportunities, so all told I can't imagine Pep Guardiola is at panic stations with his team 10 unbeaten (W8 D2) in all competitions.
However, what will concern him is a lack of fit central defenders.
NATHAN AKE and ABDUQODIR KHUSANOV are Guardiola's only available centre-backs.
That spells danger against a Brighton team who not only hold a good recent record against City (W2 D1) but have been giving opposition defences the runaround lately. Three of Burnley's back five were SHOWN A CARD at the weekend, the fifth match in succession at least one opposition defender was booked - West Ham (1), Arsenal (2), Sunderland (1), Liverpool (1).
Given the upheaval in City's backline this feels like an opportunity to capitalise on.
In the last two-and-a-half seasons AKE (8/1) has been booked only twice for City but he was shown a yellow card at Sunderland last weekend and looked awkward defending the kind of transition Brighton will look to exploit on Wednesday.
He has also spent the majority of his time at The Etihad playing alongside much better, more assured partners than KHUSANOV (11/2) whose five yellows in 16 starts for the club speaks to the 21-year-old's inexperience.
There has been no bias or trend in terms of which specific defender has been BOOKED in Albion's recent matches. Five of the eight players carded were centre-backs but several teams selected three of those, so in reality that ought to be the case.
With NICO O'REILLY (6/1) and MATHEUS NUNES (13/2) shown a respective five and four yellows already this season, and the latter booked eight times in 43 appearances last term, they are also worth covering in a match that bears all the hallmarks of being chaotic.
As the most likely to catch the referee's attention KHUSANOV and NUNES can be backed in a CARD DOUBLE at 40/1 with bet365.
As ridiculous as it may seem, backing a KHUSANOV-NUNES-O'REILLY-AKE multiple pays 1000/1 with the same bookmaker. With the benefit of 'super sub' or 'sub on play on' it's worth keeping an eye on the cash-out should anyone be booked early.
Three of Khusanov's five yellow cards for City have come in the first half (4th, 16th and 37th minutes) with his second-half bookings around the hour mark (58th and 63rd).
Such is Guardiola's seeming lack of faith in his composure that only once has the Uzbekistan defender completed the game after being shown a card.
Odds correct at 14:20 GMT (6/1/26)
More from Sporting Life
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- Home of This Week's Acca
- Football and other sports tips
- Download the Sporting Life app
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
