Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion Preview

Manchester City host Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final place at stake and both sides coming off weekend defeats. City were beaten at Aston Villa on Saturday, their first league loss of the season after seven straight wins, while Brighton lost at Liverpool a day later. Going into the weekend, these were the Premier League’s two highest-scoring sides, with Brighton on 23 league goals and City on 19, though recent meetings between them have tended to be tight. Kick-off is at 7:30pm GMT.

City’s last five read three wins and two defeats. The most recent was that 2-1 loss at Aston Villa, which came four days after a 5-1 home win over AEK Athens in the Champions League, the biggest margin of the sample. Before that they beat Ipswich 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium in the league, and three days earlier they lost 4-2 at home to PSG in Europe. A 3-0 win away at Liverpool on 11 October is the oldest result. That adds up to 14 goals scored and nine conceded across the five, with City letting in two or more in three of those games. They have scored in every one of them.

Three wins, a draw and a defeat, 11 goals scored and two conceded: Brighton’s recent numbers are strong, but the goals have dried up over the last two games. Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Liverpool came three days after a goalless draw away to Jablonec in the Conference League. Earlier in this run they won 5-0 at home to Crystal Palace, 4-0 against Kauno Zalgiris in Europe and 2-0 away at Sunderland, keeping a clean sheet in each. The Liverpool game is the only one in the sample in which they conceded. Wednesday’s tie also comes on a shorter turnaround for Brighton, three days after the Liverpool game, while City have had four days since their trip to Villa.

Brighton have the edge over the last five meetings, with two wins to City’s one and two draws. The most recent was a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in January, and the meeting before that went Brighton’s way, 2-1 at home in August 2025. City have not beaten Brighton in the last four meetings, and both of their home games in the sample ended level, the other a 2-2 draw in March 2025. Brighton’s two wins both came at home by the same 2-1 scoreline. City’s only win in the sample is the oldest of the five, a 4-0 victory away at Brighton in April 2024.

This is one of eight ties in the round, running from Tuesday to Thursday. Fleetwood Town host Arsenal on Tuesday night, while Liverpool against Chelsea is among the other ties on Wednesday.

UK viewers can stream the tie on Sky Sports+, with radio commentary on Talksport 2 Radio UK. In the USA it’s available on Paramount+, while Canadian viewers can watch through DAZN Canada or fuboTV Canada.

Possible Lineups

Manchester City — Form

Brighton & Hove Albion — Form

Head to Head

Where to Watch

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Carabao Cup