Brighton & Hove Albion play Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium tonight, Wednesday 28 October 2026, kick-off 7.30pm UK time, in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. The winner goes into the quarter-finals.
The club’s team news page says Albion have reached that stage of the League Cup only once before. Albion then play City at the Etihad again on Saturday 31 October in the Premier League.
Team news
Albion have injury doubts and two returns. Ferdi Kadioglu and Chema Andres both picked up hip injuries in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Liverpool, and the club says their fitness will be assessed before the game.
Mats Wieffer and Yankuba Minteh are both back in contention. Wieffer (knee) has missed the last nine games, and Minteh (knee) has been out since he was injured in pre-season against Roma.
For City, head coach Enzo Maresca has said he will make changes, and City confirmed that goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli will start. City say five players, Erling Haaland, Elliot Anderson, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Joško Gvardiol and captain Rúben Dias, were given three days off after last weekend’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Aston Villa.
What Hurzeler said
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler said in his pre-match interview that the returning players raise the competition in the squad:
“We are all looking forward to having these players back because, before the injuries, they were big players for us. Of course, the team is playing very well, so it also means that the returning players have to raise their standards, but that’s only positive for our culture.”
Fabian Hurzeler, Albion head coach
Hurzeler has not lost to City in four games as Albion head coach. He told the club his focus is on Wednesday first, as he explained:
“We don’t focus on Saturday. We want to be the best-prepared team for Wednesday, and that’s the main focus. We don’t try to be distracted by the weekend game. We play a do-or-die game, so we are fully focused on this.”
Fabian Hurzeler, Albion head coach
He also said City, now under Maresca, have their own way of playing:
“They press very intensely with man rotation, so that’s definitely a change. Therefore, we have to be prepared for that; we not only face a good team, we also face really good individual players.”
Fabian Hurzeler, Albion head coach
What Maresca said
City’s head coach expects a difficult night against an attacking side. In his pre-match press conference, published on City’s website, Maresca said:
“First of all, they are doing very well so both games will be tough. They are very brave, aggressive and when they have the ball they attack with so many players.
“They create so many chances. We need to do the right things offensively and defensively.”
Enzo Maresca, Manchester City head coach
City’s website says Albion have scored more goals than any other side in the Premier League this season.
The history and the numbers
The only previous League Cup meeting between the two clubs was a second-round tie in 2008-09. It finished 2-2 at the Withdean Stadium, and Albion won 5-3 on penalties, the club says.
Albion are unbeaten in four Premier League games against City, with two wins and two draws, their best run against them. They have never won away at City in 16 attempts in all competitions (four draws, 12 defeats). City have won their last seven League Cup matches, their joint-best run in the competition.
The club’s figures also show Albion have either failed to score or scored two or more in every one of their 17 League Cup games since 2020-21. Since Hurzeler’s first season in charge in 2024-25, Albion have scored more League Cup goals through players aged 22 or younger than any other side, with 18. City are second on 12.
How Albion got here
Albion won 3-2 at Old Trafford in the third round, coming from 2-0 down, City’s website says. Hurzeler said of the Etihad trip: “we are going there to try and get to the next round.”
Albion arrive after a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday, which ended a run of nine games unbeaten. We have the full story in our Liverpool 2 Albion 0 report. Midfielder Diego Gomez told the club he feels fresh for the two games, after Hurzeler managed his minutes.
The run of fixtures after these two City games is in our Albion fixtures guide to 5 January 2027.
Tickets, TV and radio
Albion supporters’ tickets for the Carabao Cup tie cost £20 for adults and £1 for under-18s, the club says. Ages 18 to 21 and over-65s pay £15, and season ticket holders pay less. Tickets are digital only. Albion say away tickets are for the named owner only, and passing one on brings a five-match Premier League home ban.
UK listings: Manchester City’s TV listings show Sky Sports+ and Talksport 2 radio in the UK, taken from livesoccertv.com. City also offer live audio commentary on CITY+. The listings for other countries are on City’s website.
Sources: Albion team news; Albion on Hurzeler; Albion on Gomez; Albion ticket information; Manchester City squad update.
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