Manchester City vs Brighton: Prediction, Tips and Odds | Carabao Cup

Manchester City's perfect domestic start under Enzo Maresca may have ended at Aston Villa, but they have a chance to respond at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, when Brighton visit for a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie that kicks off at 7:30pm.

Maresca has given five of his leading players three days off since that defeat, and with the two clubs meeting again in the Premier League on Saturday, both managers are expected to make changes.

Manchester City vs Brighton preview and form guide

When Man City were downed 2-1 at Villa Park, it marked their first Premier League defeat under Maresca, though the Sky Blues still lead the division on goal difference ahead of Arsenal on 21 points.

The bigger concern is at the back, where City have conceded in each of their last four matches and shipped nine goals in the process, including four in a 4-2 Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain on October 14.

Six of those nine goals came in two defeats, but Ipswich Town were able to score twice in a 3-2 City win and AEK Athens once in a 5-1 victory, meaning the Sky Blues have leaked goals even when coming out on top.

At the other end, the Mancunians have scored three or more goals in three of their last five matches, and their attacking prowess could be vital against a team that have kept five clean sheets from their past six outings.

In the EFL Cup, City thrashed Norwich City 5-0 in round three, a game that saw 17-year-old Floyd Samba net twice on his senior debut.

Brighton arrive after beginning the campaign in exceptional fashion, sitting third in the Premier League on 16 points, five clear of sixth-placed Brentford, and scoring 23 goals while conceding seven in their eight top-flight games.

However, the Seagulls were beaten 2-0 at Liverpool on Sunday, a second successive game without a goal after a 0-0 draw at Jablonec in the Conference League last Thursday.

Fabian Hurzeler called the Anfield defeat a missed opportunity, with Brighton having 65% of the possession but managing only one shot on target.

Before those two blanks, Brighton had scored nine without reply in two home games, beating Kauno Zalgiris 4-0 in the Conference League on October 15 and rivals Crystal Palace 5-0 in the Premier League three days later.

Pascal Gross, the Premier League's Player of the Month for September, has been a standout this term with three goals and four assists in the top flight, and is expected to start in midfield once again.

However, Brighton have historically found this stage of the competition difficult, going out in the fourth round in five of the last six seasons, but they reached it this time by recovering from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Team news and predicted lineups: Man City vs Brighton

Manchester City team news

Maresca said five players were given three days off after the Villa game, naming Haaland, Anderson, Donnarumma, Dias and Gvardiol, which makes it unlikely that any of them start.

Geronimo Rulli will play in goal, with the manager explaining that the closeness of the back-to-back Brighton fixtures means changes are needed.

Haaland has scored nine Premier League goals this season and struck at Villa, and a rest would take away City's main finisher, though Samba is an option to lead the line.

In midfield, Ayyoub Bouaddi is in line to start alongside Mateo Kovacic, while Phil Foden is expected to come back into the XI, and Nico O'Reilly is available again after a minor fitness issue.

Semenyo is the only confirmed absentee, with his knee injury expected to keep him out until mid-December, while Matheus Nunes is also a doubt with a knock.

Manchester City predicted lineup vs Brighton

Rulli; Lewis, Khusanov, Reis, O'Reilly; Bouaddi, Kovacic; Allan, Foden, Doku; Samba.

Brighton team news

Brighton are without Kaoru Mitoma, Femi Azeez, Evan Ferguson and Stefanos Tzimas, who are all ruled out through injury.

Pascal Struijk is a doubt with a thigh injury, and Ferdi Kadioglu and Chema Andres, who were both forced off at Liverpool, must also be assessed.

Mats Wieffer and Yankuba Minteh are recovering from long-term layoffs and could feature, although neither are certain to be involved.

Jack Hinshelwood, who returned from an ankle injury to score in the 4-0 win over Kauno Zalgiris on October 15, and Malick Yalcouye are pushing for midfield places.

Hurzeler is expected to rotate, with Jason Steele in line to replace Bart Verbruggen in goal and Georginio Rutter leading the attack ahead of Charalampos Kostoulas, who boasts five goals across all competitions so far.

Brighton predicted lineup vs Manchester City

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

Head-to-head: Manchester City vs Brighton

Manchester City have won 21 of the 36 meetings between the clubs, with Brighton winning eight and seven ending in draws, though the more recent record is much tighter.

City have recorded four wins, three draws and two defeats from the nine meetings in the past five years, but they have gone four games without a win against Brighton.

The Seagulls have never won at the Etihad, though they came away with a 2-2 draw in March 2025 and a 1-1 stalemate on January 7 this year.

All nine of those meetings came under the reign of Pep Guardiola, and both squads have changed, with City resting five players and Brighton expecting to rotate, so the record is context rather than a guide to Wednesday.

Our Manchester City vs Brighton prediction and tips

Odds correct as of Tuesday, 27 October 2026, 00:35 GMT.