Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca will consider making several changes to his starting lineup for Wednesday’s EFL Cup fourth-round tie against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium.

While City are keen to defend their EFL Cup crown, the Premier League remains the priority and this midweek match represents a suitable opportunity for Maresca to freshen up his team, having previously stated that he will need to rest some of his senior stars amid a busy fixture schedule.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was at fault for the second goal conceded in City’s 2-1 Premier League loss at Aston Villa last weekend, could be replaced between the sticks by Geronimo Rulli, who made his City debut in the third-round victory over Norwich last month.

Matheus Nunes did not feature against Villa due to a minor muscle issue; he could be ready to start against Brighton, but Maresca may instead opt for either Rico Lewis or Abdukodir Khusanov at right-back.

Khusanov is also a contender to begin at centre-back alongside either Marc Guehi, Ruben Dias or Vitor Reis, while Nico O'Reilly and Josko Gvardiol are set to battle for the left-back berth.

Ayyoub Bouaddi was an unused substitute against Villa and is seemingly in line to earn a recall in centre-midfield. With Mateo Kovacic also a strong contender to start, this could result in either or both of Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez making way.

Phil Foden, who has scored four goals in his last two home starts for Man City, will hope to displace Rayan Cherki in the number 10 position, while fellow academy graduate Ryan McAiddo or Allan could take the places of either Iliman Ndiaye or Jeremy Doku out wide.

Maresca will be tempted to bench star striker Erling Haaland, who played the full 90 minutes at Villa Park after recovering from a knock to his foot. However, the Norwegian may continue to lead the line and be substituted at some stage in the second half, with City hoping to boast a commanding lead by then.

The alternative is that Haaland begins as a substitute and Maresca puts his faith in 17-year-old starlet Floyd Samba, who scored a brace on his first senior start for City in the 5-0 thumping of Norwich in round three.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Rulli; Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, O'Reilly; Bouaddi, Kovacic; McAidoo, Foden, Doku; Haaland