Enzo Maresca and Manchester City Receive Brighton and Hove Albion Injury News Ahead of Carabao Cup Fourth Round
Manchester City face Brighton and Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup fourth round at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night as they bid for a berth in the quarter-final.
Geronimo Rulli will start in goal for Manchester City against Brighton in the Carabao Cup, Enzo Maresca confirmed on Tuesday.
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Fabian Hürzeler brings the Seagulls to Manchester for the first of two meetings with Enzo Maresca's City in the space of four days, with the Premier League fixture between the clubs slated for Saturday evening.
Maresca has hinted at rotation because of the quick turnaround between the games, with Geronimo Rulli set to start in goal on Wednesday to give the under-fire Gianluigi Donnarumma some time to recharge.
The Manchester City quintet of Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Elliot Anderson and Donnarumma were given three days off after last week's 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa that ended the Blues' seven-match Premier League winning run.
Rico Lewis and Rayan Ait-Nouri, who have both been short of minutes since Maresca replaced Pep Guardiola as City manager in June, could see opportunities in a changed side after the Italian assessed their situations and described each as part of the competition for places.
Brighton team news: Kadioglu and Mitoma out for Man City cup tie
Brighton look set to be without full-back Ferdi Kadioglu, who went off inside the opening five minutes against Liverpool with what appeared to be a groin or hip problem, whilst Chema Andres also limped off in that game with the nature of his issue still unclear.
Kaoru Mitoma is also unavailable, with Hürzeler stressing that the club must manage the winger carefully, whilst Pascal Struijk, Femi Azeez, Evan Ferguson, Zadok Yohanna and Stefanos Tzimas are all absentees.
Yankuba Minteh, who has missed every competitive game this season after an injury in a pre-season friendly against AS Roma, and Mats Wieffer are possible options, with Wieffer seen as the likelier of the two, whilst Costinha could keep his place at full-back despite a difficult afternoon against Cody Gakpo.
Man City's form and the Brighton double header
Manchester City have won two and lost two of their last four games, a run that included a 4-2 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain and a 5-1 win over AEK Athens in the UEFA Champions League before the loss at Villa Park.
The last month of football at the Etihad Stadium has come against the backdrop of an independent commission's guilty verdict on 114 of 115 charges, the club's declaration of innocence and the comprehensive appeal lodged at 7pm on 1 October.
Brighton arrive as the division's top scorers with 23 Premier League goals after a 3-0 win over Arsenal, which makes this double header a sharper test for a City side that remains top of the table.