Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hürzeler has made six changes to the starting line up as the Seagulls take on Manchester City at the Etihad for the second time in four days.
City won the League Cup fourth round tie on penalties after Brighton twice went ahead in the match that ended 2-2 after 90 minutes on Wednesday (28 October).
Today (Saturday 31 October) at 3pm, Hürzeler will be looking for his side to put that result behind them and seize their chance in this Premier League clash to snatch all three points.
Club captain Lewis Dunk returns to the Albion defence alongside Luke Vuskovic, Olivier Boscagli and Joao Costinho, with Bart Verbruggen back in goal.
Charalampos “Babis” Kostoulas has been named up front, with Pascal Gross in a midfield that also includes Diego Gomez, Maxim De Cuyper, Yasin Ayari and Chema Andres.
Gomez, Gross, Andres and Boscagli were all name-checked in The Times today for their long-range attempts on goals this season after Gomez scored with a 50-yard screamer in the 5-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Today, fans will be hoping for Albion to outscore the hosts whether the shots are from close range or the halfway line – and that top scorer Erling Haaland, who returns for City, will not add to his tally.
After the Carabao Cup defeat, Hürzeler said: “You can take something from every performance. In certain elements of Wednesday’s game, we missed a little bit of luck.
“But we’ll take plenty of positives away. I think my players did everything to win this game but that’s football.
“Maybe at the beginning of the season, we had this luck. How do we get it back? By working hard, by not feeling sorry for ourselves, keeping the basics right and I’m sure the outcome will come.
“It’s great to have another opportunity to do that on Saturday here in Manchester.
“We know it is a different game, competition, atmosphere – and there will be different players on the pitch from both sides. But in the end, our approach won’t change.
“We saw plenty of good individual performances last time out that should give the players confidence. Confidence always helps players develop and if players improve, the whole team improves.”
