Manchester City host Brighton & Hove Albion in the EFL Cup fourth round at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, 28 October 2026.
Enzo Maresca’s City saw a seven-match winning start to the Premier League season end with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday, while Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton were beaten 2-0 at Liverpool having failed to score in consecutive matches. City remain nine-time EFL Cup winners chasing Liverpool’s all-time record of 10 triumphs, but they are without a win in their last four meetings with Brighton (D2 L2), who have never beaten City away from home in 17 previous attempts (D3 L14). The two sides meet again in the Premier League on Saturday, just three days after this tie.
Manchester City vs Brighton – Match preview and team news
- Date: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
- Kick-off: 19:30 BST
- Venue: Etihad Stadium
- Last meeting: Manchester City 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion, January 2026, Premier League
Team news
Manchester City
Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson, Josko Gvardiol and Gianluigi Donnarumma have all been given three days’ rest by Maresca and will not feature, with Antoine Semenyo the squad’s only injury absentee. Geronimo Rulli is set to continue in goal, with 17-year-old Floyd Samba, who scored twice on his senior debut, in line to lead the line in Haaland’s absence.
Brighton
Ferdi Kadioglu and Chema Andres are doubts after picking up hip injuries at Liverpool, though Hurzeler expects both to be fit for the weekend regardless. Mats Wieffer and Yankuba Minteh are back in contention after long-term injuries and could feature from the bench, while Kaoru Mitoma, Femi Azeez, Pascal Struijk, Evan Ferguson and Stefanos Tzimas remain sidelined.
Form
Manchester City
City’s defensive form has become a concern, with nine goals conceded across their last four matches in all competitions and no clean sheet in that run. They reached this round with a 5-0 win over Norwich City.
Brighton
Brighton remain third in the Premier League, five points clear of sixth-placed Brentford, despite failing to score in their last two matches. They reached this round with a 3-2 comeback win at Manchester United, having trailed 2-0 at half-time.
Predicted lineups
Manchester City possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Rulli; Lewis, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Bouaddi, Kovacic; Allan, Foden, Doku; Samba
Brighton possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Steele; Costinha, Vuskovic, Dunk, Hadjam; Gross, Yalcouye; Gomez, Hinshelwood, Osman; Rutter
How to watch Manchester City vs Brighton?
The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.
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