Manchester City host Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening, looking to bounce back from a first Premier League defeat of the season.
Enzo Maresca’s side saw their seven-match winning start to the league campaign ended by a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday, a result that allowed Arsenal to draw level with them at the top of the table. City have conceded nine goals in their last four matches across all competitions without keeping a clean sheet, a run Maresca will be keen to arrest before Saturday’s league rematch with Brighton. City conceded eight goals in their previous nine matches to start the campaign, underlining how recent the defensive dip has been.
Manchester City team news
Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson, Josko Gvardiol and Gianluigi Donnarumma have all been given three days off by Maresca and will not be involved. “After the Villa game, we gave five players three days off,” the head coach said. “Erling, Ruben, Elliot, Gigi and Josko. They are all on holiday.” Antoine Semenyo remains the squad’s only genuine injury absentee, with a knee problem, while Matheus Nunes is available again after a minor groin issue.
Geronimo Rulli continues in goal in Donnarumma’s absence, having kept a clean sheet on his City debut against Norwich. Marc Guehi, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov are all contenders at centre-back with Dias rested, while Nico O’Reilly and Rayan Ait-Nouri compete for the left-back spot vacated by Gvardiol. Ayyoub Bouaddi could come into midfield in Anderson’s absence, and 17-year-old Floyd Samba, who scored twice on his senior debut, is in line to lead the line with Haaland given a break.
Manchester City predicted lineup
Manchester City possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Rulli; Lewis, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Bouaddi, Kovacic; Allan, Foden, Doku; Samba
When will the match kick off?
The match kicks off at 19:30 BST on Wednesday, 28 October 2026.
How to watch Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion?
The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK.
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