Erling Haaland will miss Manchester City's EFL Cup fourth-round tie at home against Brighton on Wednesday night. Enzo Maresca has confirmed that five players were given three days off after Aston Villa, with Rúben Dias, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Haaland among those sent away before the double-header with Brighton.

Maresca's rotation plan

Maresca said: "After the Villa game (last Saturday), we gave five players three days off. Erling, Ruben, Elliot, Gigi and Josko. They are all on holiday. Three days off, energy, go, come back full of energy and then go again." He also said, "First of all, [Brighton] are doing very well; both games are going to be tough games. In terms of how we plan the two games, they are so close so we need to make some changes."

The most notable change is in goal, where Gerónimo Rulli will start between the sticks for his second appearance for Manchester City. Maresca confirmed it too: "Yes [Rulli will play tomorrow]. He’s good. Before I arrived here, I had a conversation with him, he knows his role and that’s important."

Haaland and the size of the change

Haaland's omission stands out because he has 13 goals in 11 appearances across all competitions. He has also scored seven times in his last seven matches against Brighton. City are not short of evidence that he can hurt this opponent, but they are choosing rest over risk with the cup tie followed by a Premier League meeting on Saturday in Manchester City vs Brighton.

The wider context is a City side sitting top of the Premier League, while Brighton are third and have not been treated as a soft touch. Maresca called them brave, aggressive and capable of creating many chances, which is why the rotation looks like a workload decision as much as anything else. The Aston Villa loss clearly sits in the background, but the two games in four days make the schedule argument just as strong.

City will settle the final lineup after one more session, but the main shape is already clear: Haaland is out, Rulli is in, and Wednesday's cup tie is being handled as part of a packed two-game stretch rather than a stand-alone night.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →