Erling Haaland will miss Manchester City’s EFL Cup fourth-round tie at home against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night, manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed.

The prolific Norwegian recovered from a knock to his foot to score in City’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Aston Villa last weekend – his 13th goal in 11 appearances across all competitions.

Haaland, who finished eighth in the 2026 Ballon d’Or rankings, also has an impressive scoring record against Brighton, netting seven times in his last seven encounters with the Seagulls.

However, Man City’s No.9 is one of five first-team stars who will not be involved on Wednesday along with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Elliot Anderson, Josko Gvardiol and captain Ruben Dias.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning, Maresca allayed injury fears over the Citizens quintet and confirmed that the decision has been made to give them an additional period of rest.

Haaland, Anderson, Dias, Gvardiol, Donnarumma to miss Brighton cup clash

"After the Villa game (last Saturday), we gave five players three days off," Maresca, told reporters. "Erling, Ruben, Elliot, Gigi and Josko. They are all on holiday. Three days off, energy, go, come back full of energy and then go again.”

This decision comes after Maresca told reporters earlier this month that he needs to rest some of his first-team stars during the club’s busy fixture schedule, particularly those who have also played regularly for their countries at the World Cup and during the recent international break.

In the absence of first-choice goalkeeper Donnarumma, Maresca has also confirmed that summer signing Geronimo Rulli will start between the sticks for his second appearance for the club.

Rulli kept a clean sheet on his Man City debut in the 5-0 home victory over Norwich City in the EFL Cup third round last month.

It was also a memorable night for 17-year-old academy graduate Floyd Samba, who scored a brace on his full Man City debut, and he could be handed another start up front in Haaland’s absence against Brighton.

Marc Guehi, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov are all contenders to start at centre-back in the absence of Dias, while Nico O'Reilly and Rayan Ait-Nouri are set to battle for a start at left-back now that Gvardiol is being given a rest.

In the absence of Anderson, fellow summer signing Ayyoub Bouaddi could be recalled in centre-midfield, with Enzo Fernandez and Mateo Kovacic also contenders to start in the middle of the pitch.

Maresca preparing for two “tough games” against Brighton

Man City are preparing to face Brighton twice within the space of just four days, with their EFL Cup tie followed by another home encounter in the Premier League on Saturday - first versus third in the table.

"First of all, [Brighton] are doing very well; both games are going to be tough games,” said Maresca. “In terms of how we plan the two games, they are so close so we need to make some changes.

“But again, we have one more session this afternoon and then we'll decide (on a starting lineup) for tomorrow and Saturday.

"They are very brave in terms of aggression and when they have the ball, they attack with so many players and are creating many chances, scoring many goals, so we need to pay attention defensively and we need to do the right things offensively."

Brighton have drawn widespread praise throughout season both for their free-scoring displays and statement victories in the Premier League, including a 3-0 home win over champions Arsenal last month.

The Seagulls also beat Man United 3-2 in the EFL Cup third round, but they are seeking to bounce back from a Premier League defeat last weekend, losing 2-0 at Liverpool, while they have never beaten the Citizens away from home in 17 previous attempts (D3 L14).