Two teams bidding to quickly bounce back from Premier League disappointment at the weekend square off in the EFL Cup fourth round on Wednesday night, as holders Manchester City play host to Brighton & Hove Albion.

This Etihad Stadium encounter is the first of a quickfire double-header between the two clubs, who will lock horns again in the Premier League just three days later.

Match preview

After starting life under Enzo Maresca with seven straight Premier League wins, Man City’s flawless top-flight record came to an end at a familiarly unhappy hunting ground as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday – their fourth consecutive loss at Villa Park.

The Citizens missed out on breaking an all-time club record for successive league wins at the start of a campaign, which has remarkably stood since 1897-98. Instead, conceding two preventable goals either side of half time cost them dearly, and the defeat has allowed champions Arsenal to draw level at the top of the table.

Defensive concerns for Man City have grown in recent weeks, as they have conceded nine times across their last four matches in all competitions and have not kept a single clean sheet in this run; they shipped eight goals in their previous nine matches at the start of the campaign.

Maresca’s men will conclude October with back-to-back battles against Brighton – the third-highest scorers in Europe (34) – and they head into Wednesday’s contest seeking to avoid a third defeat in five matches across all competitions.

Man City – nine-time EFL Cup winners chasing Liverpool’s all-time record of 10 triumphs – cruised to a 5-0 home victory over Norwich City in the third round last month. However, they are without a win in four meetings with Brighton (D2 L2) and have suffered EFL Cup elimination before round five in three of the last five seasons.

After scoring three or more goals in five matches out of six across all competitions, including a 5-0 hammering of M23 rivals Crystal Palace, Fabian Hurzeler’s free-scoring Brighton outfit has since drawn a blank across their last two games against FK Baumit Jablonec and Liverpool.

A goalless Conference League stalemate in Czechia against Jablonec was followed three days later by a 2-0 Premier League defeat against Liverpool at Anfield, where the Seagulls boasted 64% of possession but surprisingly managed only one shot on target.

It was a “missed opportunity” for Hurzeler who boldly claimed that his Brighton side were the only team who “tried to create and win” on Merseyside. Nevertheless, the Seagulls remain third in the Premier League table and already five points clear of Brentford in sixth spot.

Up next for Brighton is the third of five successive away matches across a gruelling 16-day period. The Seagulls have never beaten Man City away from home in 17 previous attempts (D3 L14), though they did secure draws in their last two league visits (2-2 in March 2025 and 1-1 in January 2026).

Brighton’s EFL Cup record also leaves a lot to be desired, as they have been knocked out in the fourth round in five of the last six years – losing 2-0 at Arsenal last season – and have not progressed beyond the fourth round since 1978-79.

However, the Seagulls pulled off an impressive 3-2 comeback victory on the red side of Manchester in round three last month, storming back from two goals down at half time to beat a wounded Man United side 3-2 at Old Trafford.

Manchester City EFL Cup form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Brighton & Hove Albion EFL Cup form:

Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions):

Team News

Man City’s only injured player is Antoine Semenyo (knee). Matheus Nunes and Nico O'Reilly were both unused substitutes against Villa after recovering from minor issues and are available to start as full-backs on Wednesday.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was at fault for the second goal City conceded at Villa, could be replaced by new cup goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, while Phil Foden,  Ayyoub Bouaddi, Mateo Kovacic, Allan and Ryan McAiddo are also contenders to earn a recall should Maresca freshen up his first XI.

Erling Haaland has found the net 13 times in 11 appearances this term, but after scoring and playing 90 minutes at Villa after recovering from a swollen foot, Maresca may be tempted to bench his star striker against Brighton.

Seventeen-year-old Floyd Samba, who netted a brace on his senior debut in the third-round win over Norwich, could be the chosen one to lead the line if Haaland is rested.

As for Brighton, they are sweating over the fitness of full-back Ferdi Kadioglu and midfielder Chema Andres who were forced off in the defeat to Liverpool with respective hip and muscle problems.

It remains to be seen whether either Mats Wieffer (knee) or Yankuba Minteh (ankle) will be ready to return having made progress in their recovery from long-term injuries, while Kaoru Mitoma, Femi Azeez, Pascal Struijk (all thigh), Evan Ferguson (ankle) and Stefanos Tzimas (knee) all remain sidelined.

Hurzeler is likely to make changes to his starting lineup, with Costinha and Jaouen Hadjam strong contenders to start as full-backs, while Jack Hinshelwood, Malick Yalcouye and Matt O'Riley will all push for a recall in midfield.

Charalampos Kostoulas has scored a team-high five goals in all competitions this season, including one in the third-round win at Old Trafford, but 19-year-old could be replaced up front by Georginio Rutter.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

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

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:

Steele; Costinha, Vuskovic, Dunk, Hadjam; Gross, Yalcouye; Gomez, Hinshelwood, Osman; Rutter

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

A compelling, end-to-end cup tie should be in store at the Etihad between the only two Premier League sides to breach the 20-goal milestone already this season.

Man City's persistent defensive vulnerabilities will offer plenty of encouragement to Brighton, but with both managers expected to shuffle their packs, we are backing the hosts to outgun the Seagulls and edge a high-scoring affair to progress to round five.

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