For the second time in four days, Premier League leaders Manchester City welcome third-placed Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Seagulls are out for revenge against the Citizens after suffering a penalty-shootout defeat in the EFL Cup fourth round on Wednesday following an entertaining 2-2 draw in 90 minutes.

Match preview

Man City tightened their firm grip on the EFL Cup after the holders came from behind twice to send a compelling contest between two heavily-rotated sides to penalties, where goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli came to the rescue with two crucial saves.

It was a positive response from Enzo Maresca’s men who had previously seen their perfect start in the Premier League (seven wins from seven games) ended at Aston Villa last weekend, going down 2-1 at Villa Park.

Man City are now clinging on to top spot in the Premier League table via goal difference after champions Arsenal drew level on points with a third successive win, while this weekend’s opponents Brighton are five points further back in third place.

One area of weakness Maresca will be keen to address is in defence, as Man City have conceded 11 goals across their last five fixtures in all tournaments, shipping at least two goals in three of those games – the last time City went six games in a row without a clean sheet was between January and February 2025.

Nevertheless, the Sky Blues will welcome a quick return to the Etihad where they have lost just one of their last 22 Premier League home matches (W18 D3), while they have never been beaten by Brighton on their own turf in 18 previous encounters (D4 L14).

Since hitting five unanswered goals past M23 rivals Crystal Palace almost a fortnight ago, Brighton have failed to win any of their last three matches across three different competitions – the last time they endured a four-game winless run was between January and February (six games).

Fabian Hurzeler was left “disappointed” after conceded two “unlucky” EFL Cup goals against Man City in midweek, while he felt that his Seagulls side were the only team who “tried to create and win” in last weekend’s 2-0 loss at Liverpool, despite registering only one of their 17 shots on target.

Now gearing up for their fourth consecutive away game in 11 days, Brighton have seen both of their two Premier League defeat come on the road (losing to Liverpool and Chelsea), while a run of four defeats in their last six top-flight away matches leaves a lot to be desired.

The Premier League's top scorers (23) can take comfort from having drawn their last two league visits to the Etihad, but the Seagulls have historically struggled on this ground, collecting just two points from a possible 27 available as a Premier League side – marking their worst record at any stadium in the division.

Manchester City Premier League form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form:

Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions):

Team News

Man City’s only confirmed injury absentee is Antoine Semenyo (knee), while Matheus Nunes has missed the last two games with an unspecified muscle issue and remains a doubt.

Despite Rulli’s EFL Cup heroics, Maresca has confirmed that Gianluigi Donnarumma remains his first-choice goalkeeper and will return between the sticks, while captain Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Elliot Anderson and Erling Haaland are all set for recall after being rested on Wednesday.

Teenage starlet Ayyoub Bouaddi is pushing for a start in midfield having made a notable impression in recent weeks. His introduction could see Enzo Fernandez moved further forward at the expense of Rayan Cherki, who has played more games than any other City player this season (13 out of 14).

As for Brighton, Kaoru Mitoma, Femi Azeez, Pascal Struijk (all thigh), Evan Ferguson (ankle), Stefanos Tzimas (knee) and Zadok Yohanna (knock) all remain out with injuries.

However, Ferdi Kadioglu and Chema Andres are expected to return after missing the midweek match with hip problems; the former could be ready to start at right-back while the latter could play alongside Pascal Gross in a deep-lying midfield role.

Charalampos Kostoulas, who has scored a team-high five goals this term, was rested in the EFL Cup and should return to lead the line at the expense of Georginio Rutter, while Yankuba Minteh and Mats Wieffer are set to begin as substitutes having now made a full recover from injury.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Khusanov, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol; Anderson, Bouaddi; Foden, Fernandez, Doku; Haaland

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Dunk, Vuskovic, Boscagli; Gross, Andres; Gomez, Ayari, De Cuyper; Kostoulas

We say: Manchester City 3-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

Expect goals between the Premier League’s top-two scoring teams, as 10 of the last 12 meetings between Man City and Brighton in all competitions have seen both teams score, with at least four goals netted on six of those occasions.

Brighton are more than capable of picking up maximum points and punishing City’s vulnerable backline, but we are backing a Haaland-inspired Sky Blue side to edge a five-goal thriller.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.