Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Manchester City will have a full complement of players available as they host Brighton on Saturday, facing the Seagulls for the second time this week. The manager revealed his first-choice team, save for Antoine Semenyo, are all fully fit and available for the Premier League rematch.
Rotation Pays Off in Carabao Cup
Maresca rotated his side heavily for the midweek Carabao Cup clash, which City won after a penalty shootout. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Josko Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Enzo Fernandes and Elliot Anderson all missed out on the starting lineup on Wednesday night, with Mateo Kovacic and Vitor Reis responsible for the goals as the sides played out a 2-2 stalemate inside 90 minutes.
Maresca, though, will hope for a more comfortable result on Saturday. "They are all available, [apart from] Antoine Semenyo. The rest, they are all available," he confirmed on Friday afternoon.
Semenyo's Recovery Progress
Semenyo is expected to miss around two months with a knee injury sustained against Ipswich earlier this month. However, Maresca has confirmed he is progressing well in his recovery as he pushes to get back on the grass: "He is good, he is in a good mood. He is inside the building doing recovery sessions, all the therapy that he needs, but again it is too early now [to discuss his return]."
Respect for Brighton's Quality
It is no easy feat to face a team of Brighton's quality twice in just four days, and Maresca added he remains wary of Brighton's quality as they return to the Etihad. "It is a team that in any game they score many goals - three, four, five goals. They create many chances against any team. It is going to be a tough game but where they can be at the end of the season, I don't know."
"They're doing very good, on the ball and off the ball. They are very aggressive, man-to-man oriented in all the games. They attack very good with so many players - full-backs, wingers, attacking midfielders - so it is going to be a tough game."
