Manchester City take on Brighton on Saturday as two of the best teams in the Premier League go at it for the second time in a week

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? The second half of Manchester City against Brighton on Saturday may give a clue.

Something will have to give when the two sides meet at the Etihad for the second time in a week, with the outcome helping to shape the narrative for both clubs. Brighton are punching above their weight and see a genuine chance to upset the established order, yet were brought down to earth at Anfield last Sunday and, after going out of the cup on penalties to City, are looking to avoid three defeats in a row.

City's victory was all the more satisfying for Enzo Maresca on Wednesday because he rested five of his best players completely and only introduced a few others as substitutes. That feel-good factor has helped the manager to describe the mood as 'calm' after the Villa defeat rather than anything more serious, although Brighton could change that theory.

Maresca's team face the only side that have scored more goals than them in the Premier League after eight matches, and the first goal should be particularly significant. Between them, they have a 100 per cent record on the 12 occasions they have taken the lead in a match this season.

That could be where City hold an advantage. They came from behind to win on the opening day of the campaign at home to Bournemouth and also twice cancelled out Brighton leads in the cup on Wednesday before going on to win the penalty shootout. It was a very different team to the one that will play on Saturday yet the feeling will still be there.

City have generally saved their most productive spells of the game for the second half. 13 of their 20 league goals have arrived after the break, with a trend of rocky starts followed by the Blues taking charge of the game and making their quality show as the game goes on.

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Brighton have scored 12 goals in that time, yet more impressive is at the other end: just one of the eight goals they have conceded has come in the second half, and that was back in August when Cole Palmer scored for Chelsea in a high-scoring match. They have played six league games since then and not conceded once after the break.

It may not be the decisive period of Saturday's match, but this is a significant test for both clubs. Maresca has had an exceptional start as he succeeds Pep Guardiola yet still has to temper the idea that City will struggle against the better sides that they come up against in England and Europe after defeats to Arsenal, PSG and Villa.

Having booked a home Carabao Cup quarter-final against League One side Bradford with one victory over Brighton this week, a second will go a considerable way to framing expectations for this new City side.