Bournemouth lesson for Brighton
More often than not it has been the Davids rather than the Goliaths that have surprised Manchester City over the last two years.
A team that romped home in the Premier League in the 2017/18 campaign was undone by Shakhtar, Basel and Wigan Athletic in other competitions, before Lyon, Crystal Palace and Swansea City were the only sides to open up a two-goal lead last season.
That Swansea game in particular stood out as a supposedly lesser team took on the Blues at their own game and enjoyed real success before Bernardo Silva and substitutes Aleks Zinchenko, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero bailed them out.
It was a similar story at Bournemouth last weekend. At a ground City monstered last season, they were given a real scare before emerging with the victory thanks to the sharp shooting of Aguero and Sterling.
That should be all the reminder City need ahead of their game with Brighton under Graham Potter, who so nearly masterminded Swansea to that FA Cup shock. Having already been surprised this season, there is no excuse for not being ready to guard against another one on Saturday.
Sterling hunting more records
Raheem Sterling is hungry for more goals and can set more records against Brighton.
With five goals and counting, the England international can set a new Premier League record if he can bag two; only Edin Dzeko (six in 2011) and Chris Sutton (six in 1997) have netted more Premier League goals in August in a single season.
Perhaps more importantly, Sterling can set a new personal best by scoring in four consecutive games if he nets on Saturday. Having looked sharp in pre-season when he scored in three of four games on tour, he also netted in the Community Shield against Liverpool.
And his run of scoring in three straight games since the beginning of the Premier League season equals the best run of his career, meaning a goal against Brighton would make it his best contribution.
Sterling wants to get more and more prolific, and the statistics are so far backing that up.
Walker support
Guardiola gave Walker his full support after the defender was dropped from the England squad, and he also spoke of how Joao Cancelo is not fully up to speed with everything after arriving late for pre-season.
It would be one hell of a decision not to start Walker against Brighton then, and the defender has started the season positively for the Blues with some marauding performances going forward.
He has one last chance to show why he should keep his place in the team for Norwich away.
