Man City vs Brighton preview: Both sides eye cup progress after Premier League defeats

Manchester City host Brighton at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, with both sides looking to bounce back from weekend defeats and reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

Manchester City form and team news:

Enzo Maresca’s side suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season on Saturday, losing 2-1 to Aston Villa despite Erling Haaland’s goal.

City remain top of the table, although Arsenal are now level on points following their victory over Everton.

The hosts cruised past Norwich City 5-0 in the previous round, with Floyd Samba scoring twice alongside goals from Rayan Cherki, Allan and McAidoo.

With a relentless schedule ahead, Maresca has opted to rest Haaland, Elliot Anderson, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.

City face Brighton again in the Premier League on Saturday, with Maresca acknowledging the need for rotation.

The City boss said: “They are doing very well, so it's gonna be a tough game, and then in terms of how we plan the two games, they are so close, so we need to make some changes.”

Geronimo Rulli is confirmed to start in goal, with Maresca praising his contribution.

The manager said: “He's doing well day by day, he's helping a lot. The players, when he played some minutes, when he played the game, it was good, and tomorrow he's going to play again.”

Matheus Nunes remains unavailable, while Antoine Semenyo is sidelined longer-term.

Brighton form and team news:

Brighton also suffered defeat at the weekend, losing 2-0 to Liverpool at Anfield after managing just one shot on target.

Despite that setback, Fabian Hürzeler’s side sit third in the Premier League and remain the competition’s highest scorers.

The Seagulls reached the fourth round with a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Goals from Charalampos Kostoulas, Pascal Groß and Maxim De Cuyper completed the turnaround after Brighton trailed 2-0.

Hürzeler described Wednesday’s clash as a “do-or-die game”, emphasising the importance of progressing.

The Brighton manager added: “We know that City may be the best team in the league at the moment. It is another tough challenge for us, but we are ready for that.”

Chema Andrés and Ferdi Kadıoğlu are doubtful with painful hip injuries, although both could return for Saturday’s league meeting.

Pascal Struijk remains unavailable, while Michael Svoboda is expected to return to the squad.

Mats Wieffer and Yankuba Minteh will travel, with late decisions expected on their involvement.

Kaoru Mitoma, Evan Ferguson, Femi Azeez, Stefanos Tzimas and Zadok Yohanna remain sidelined.

Predicted line-ups:

Manchester City XI: Rulli; O’Reilly, Reis, Khusanov, Lewis; Bouaddi, Kovacic, Cherki; Aït-Nouri, Allan, Foden.

Brighton XI: Steele; Hadjam, Boscagli, Svoboda, Costinha; Yalcouyé, Groß, Hinshelwood; O’Riley, Osman, Rutter.