Man City injury news: Enzo Maresca gives Matheus Nunes, Iliman Ndiaye, Antoine Semenyo update before Brighton clash

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has provided a affirmative update connected the fittingness of his squad up of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Citizens are preparing for their 2nd Etihad Stadium clash with Brighton successful conscionable 4 days pursuing a penalty-shootout triumph implicit the Seagulls successful the EFL Cup connected Wednesday.

Maresca made 9 changes to his lineup for the fourth-round tie, with Erling Haaland, Elliot Anderson, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Gianluigi Donnarumma each rested.

Summer signing Iliman Ndiaye watched connected arsenic an unused substitute having antecedently being taken disconnected with cramp successful City’s 2-1 Premier League decision astatine Aston Villa past weekend.

Matheus Nunes, meanwhile, has not featured successful City’s past 2 games owed to an unspecified musculus issue, but Maresca has confirmed that the right-back, and Ndiaye, are disposable for enactment connected Saturday.

Speaking astatine a property league connected Friday, Maresca said: "They are each available, [apart from] Antoine Semenyo. The rest, they are each available."

Nunes, Ndiaye disposable arsenic Maresca gives Semenyo update

Semenyo is facing respective weeks connected the sidelines with a genu injury and whitethorn not instrumentality to first-team enactment until the extremity of the year.

Providing a caller update connected Semenyo’s recovery, Maresca said: "He's good! He's successful a bully mood, he's wrong the gathering (Man City’s grooming complex), making betterment sessions and each the therapy that helium needs, but again, it's excessively early."

In Semenyo’s absence, Ndiaye, Jeremy Doku, Allan, Ryan McAidoo and Phil Foden volition each vie for starts successful wide areas nether Maresca.

As for Nunes, helium is successful contention to commencement astatine right-back up of Abdukodir Khusanov and Rico Lewis, the second of whom began the midweek cupful triumph implicit Brighton.

Maresca is expected to revert to his strongest lineup connected Saturday arsenic the Italian is expecting different “tough game” against a Brighton broadside sitting 3rd successful the Premier League table.

Man City presently beryllium astatine the acme but lone connected extremity quality aft champions Arsenal capitalised connected their slip-up astatine Villa to drew level connected points.

Maresca talks up Brighton qualities up of Man City PL clash

“It’s going to beryllium a pugnacious crippled successful the mode [Brighton] play, against immoderate squad nary substance if it’s successful antithetic contention oregon different teams,” said Maresca.

“They ever effort to beryllium beforehand foot, aforesaid style, they onslaught with galore players, they make galore chances, people galore goals, but again we volition effort to bash our champion and triumph the game.”

Asked if helium sees Brighton arsenic contenders for Champions League qualification, Maresca said: "I deliberation it is inactive excessively aboriginal for each the clubs but for sure, they are doing precise good.

"It is simply a squad that successful immoderate crippled they people galore goals - three, four, 5 goals. They make galore chances against immoderate team. It is going to beryllium a pugnacious crippled but wherever they tin beryllium astatine the extremity of the season, I don't know."

He added: "They're doing precise good, connected the shot and disconnected the ball. They are precise aggressive, man-to-man oriented successful each the games. They onslaught precise bully with truthful galore players - full-backs, wingers, attacking midfielders - truthful it is going to beryllium a pugnacious game."

Man City person drawn their past 3 games astatine the Etihad against Brighton successful 90 minutes (two successful the Premier League, 1 successful the EFL Cup), but they person ne'er been beaten by the Seagulls successful 18 location games successful their past (D4 L14).