Manchester City welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to the Etihad on Wednesday night for an intriguing fourth round Carabao Cup encounter. The game pits together two of the form sides in the Premier League this term, with City currently top of the pile on 21 points and Albion in third on 16 points.
This game will act as a dress rehearsal for when the two teams clash again, also at the Etihad, in the league on Saturday afternoon.
City chief Enzo Maresca was asked about the unique challenge that that presents: “First of all, they are doing very well; both games are going to be tough games.
“And then in terms of how we plan the two games, they are so close so we need to make some changes. But again, we have one more session this afternoon and then we’ll decide for tomorrow and Saturday.”
On Brighton specifically, he added: “They are very brave in terms of aggression and when they have the ball, they attack with so many players and are creating many chances, scoring many goals. So we need to pay attention defensively and we need to do the right things offensively.”
Maresca also confirmed that a quintet of players will miss the cup clash. Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Josko Gvardiol were all given extended time off after last weekend’s defeat to Aston Villa with the intention of them all being fit and firing for the second meeting against Brighton at the weekend.
Albion travel north for this double-header in high spirits despite having their wings clipped ever so slightly after a defeat away to Liverpool on Sunday. Fabian Hurzeler’s side have lost just twice in all competitions this term and in the last round of the EFL Cup they produced a sensational comeback to win 3-2 away at Manchester United.
They’ve had a slight setback in the last couple of games, failing to score in the aforementioned defeat at Anfield and in a goalless stalemate in the Europa Conference League away at Czech side Jablonec last Thursday.
In terms of team news for the Seagulls, Mats Weiffer and Yankuba Minteh are both nearing returns and could be involved at some point in this one.
Ferdi Kadioglu and Chema Andres, who both went off prematurely on Sunday, should also be involved either in the first game against City or failing that the second clash.
Hurzeler said of the pair: “We have to see how they train today, if it’s possible if they can train and, if yes, then of course they will be an option for tomorrow. But they definitely should be both available for the weekend.”
Given the tight turnaround between the two fixture, Albion’s players and staff will stay in the North-west through until Saturday.
