Man City make nine changes for Brighton cup tie
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- Manchester City made nine changes to their team for the Brighton cup tie.
- Only Marc Guehi and Rayan Cherki kept their places from the Aston Villa game.
- The winner reaches the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, the last eight.
Manchester City made nine changes for their cup tie with Brighton. The game is the Carabao Cup fourth round. It takes place at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
The Carabao Cup is England's League Cup. It is a knock-out cup for pro clubs. The loser goes out.
The winner moves one step closer to the final.
Kick-off is at 7:30 pm UK time on Wednesday, October 28. That is 12:30 am Pakistan time on Thursday, October 29. Fans in the UK can watch it on Sky Sports.
They can also stream it on the Sky Go app.
What happened
City boss Enzo Maresca picked a much-changed team. Only two players kept their places from Saturday's game. Those two are Marc Guehi and Rayan Cherki.
City lost 2-1 at Aston Villa on Saturday. That loss ended a strong league start. City had won their first seven league games this season.
Maresca then gave five star players three days off.
The rested players are Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias. They are joined by Elliot Anderson and Josko Gvardiol. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is also rested.
None of the five play against Brighton.
Gerónimo Rulli starts in goal for City. Rico Lewis and Nico O'Reilly play as full-backs. Full-backs defend wide areas and help attacks too.
Vitor Reis plays next to Guehi in central defence.
Guehi wears the captain's armband for City. A captain leads the team on the pitch. Mateo Kovacic and Ayyoub Bouaddi play in central midfield.
Phil Foden and Cherki play as creators behind the striker.
Floyd Samba leads the attack for City. Samba is a young striker. He scored twice in the last round against Norwich.
City won that game 5-0 at home.
The City bench has some young names too. Kaden Braithwaite and Ryan McAidoo are academy graduates. An academy is a club's school for young players.
Dexter Oliver, 17, is also on the bench. He could make his first-team debut. A debut is a player's first game for the senior team.
Brighton also made changes to their team. Jason Steele starts in goal for the visitors. Costinha and Jaouen Hadjam play as full-backs.
Michael Svoboda and Olivier Boscagli play in central defence.
Pascal Gross captains Brighton from midfield. Jack Hinshelwood and Yasin Ayari play with him. Diego Gomez, Malick Yalcouye, and Georginio Rutter play further forward.
Rutter leads the Brighton attack.
Brighton are without four players through injury. Kaoru Mitoma and Evan Ferguson are both out. Stefanos Tzimas and Femi Azeez are out too.
Yankuba Minteh and Mats Wieffer are back from injury. Both start on the bench for Brighton.
City fans will recall the last league meeting with Villa. Aston Villa beat City after a strong first half. That game showed why Maresca wants fresh legs now.
Why it matters
This tie is a test of City's squad depth. Squad depth means how good the back-up players are. A deep squad can cope when stars rest.
A thin squad struggles with injuries and tired legs.
City have won this cup nine times before. Only Liverpool have won it more often, with ten wins. City have also won their last seven League Cup games.
That run is one of the best in club history.
But City's defence has had problems of late. City conceded nine goals in their last four games. To concede means to let the other team score.
Maresca will want a clean sheet here. A clean sheet means the other team scores no goals.
Brighton are a hard team to beat right now. Brighton are unbeaten in their last four games against City. They won two of those games and drew two.
Brighton have never won at the Etihad Stadium, though. That record gives City fans hope at home.
Brighton reached this round in style. They trailed 2-0 at Manchester United in the last round. They fought back to win that game 3-2.
That win shows Brighton do not give up easily.
Brighton also come into this game after a mixed week. They drew 0-0 at Jablonec in Europe. Then they lost 2-0 at Liverpool on Sunday.
Brighton failed to score in that goalless draw at Jablonec. Goals have dried up for them in recent games.
City's young players have a big chance tonight. Samba already showed his eye for goal against Norwich. Foden and Kovacic bring know-how to the team.
Know-how means skill learned from past games. The mix of youth and know-how could work well.
The past also adds spice to this tie. The clubs met once before in the League Cup. That was in the 2008-09 season, in round two.
The game ended 2-2 at Brighton's old Withdean ground. Brighton then won 5-3 on penalties. Penalties are spot kicks used to settle a tied cup game.
What happens next
The winner of this tie reaches the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals are the last eight teams. The draw for that round will follow later.
Both clubs will want a kind draw at home.
The two clubs meet again very soon. They play in the Premier League on Saturday. That game is also at the Etihad Stadium.
It comes just three days after this cup tie.
Saturday's league game may look quite different. Rested stars like Haaland could return for City. Brighton may also bring back their first-choice players.
The cup tie could still shape that game, though. A win builds belief. A loss can dent belief fast.
City's recent league form still gives them much to play for. City beat Ipswich 3-2 in a recent league game. That result showed their attack can score late goals.
Tonight, a changed team must show the same fight.
For Brighton, a win at the Etihad would be a first. It would also end City's cup winning run. It would give their season a fresh lift.
A loss would still leave the league game to come. Three days is a short wait for revenge.
The tie kicks off late for fans in Pakistan. It starts at 12:30 am on Thursday. The winner will know their fate by the early hours.
The quarter-final draw will then set the next step. Both teams have a clear prize in sight tonight.
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