Brighton & Hove Albion travel to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the second time in four days, looking to avenge their EFL Cup exit.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side were beaten on penalties by Manchester City in midweek following a 2-2 draw, and they sit third in the Premier League, five points behind Saturday’s opponents. Brighton have not won any of their last three matches across three different competitions since a 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace almost a fortnight ago. Brighton are the Premier League’s leading scorers with 23 goals but have a dismal record at the Etihad, taking just two points from a possible 27 there as a top-flight side.
Brighton team news
Kaoru Mitoma, Femi Azeez, Pascal Struijk, Evan Ferguson, Stefanos Tzimas and Zadok Yohanna all remain out through injury. Ferdi Kadioglu and Chema Andres are expected to return after missing the EFL Cup tie with hip problems, with Kadioglu in line to start at right-back and Andres potentially operating alongside Pascal Gross in a deeper midfield role. Brighton have now lost four of their last six top-flight away matches, a run Hurzeler will be desperate to end on a ground where his side have historically struggled.
Charalampos Kostoulas, the club’s top scorer with five goals this season, was rested in midweek and should return to lead the line ahead of Georginio Rutter. Yankuba Minteh and Mats Wieffer, both now fully recovered from long-term injuries, are set to begin among the substitutes. Hurzeler described Wednesday’s EFL Cup defeat as unlucky and said his side were the better team on the night.
Brighton predicted lineup
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Dunk, Vuskovic, Boscagli; Gross, Andres; Gomez, Ayari, De Cuyper; Kostoulas
When will the match kick off?
The match kicks off at 15:00 GMT on Saturday, 31 October 2026.
How to watch Manchester City vs Brighton?
This fixture falls in the 3pm Saturday blackout and is not being shown live in the UK.
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