Erling Haaland is not playing for Manchester City against Brighton in the Carabao Cup fourth round. Manager Enzo Maresca has left the Norwegian striker out of the squad as part of a rest plan, and the club’s confirmed lineup shows no sign of him.
Haaland is one of five regulars who were handed three days off after City’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Aston Villa. Maresca named the group himself: “After Villa, we gave five players three days off. Erling, Elliot, Gigio, Ruben and Josko. They are all on holiday. Three days off, energy, go, come back full of energy and then go again”.
The decision is also tied to the calendar. City face Brighton twice in four days, with the Premier League rematch at the Etihad on Oct. 31, and Maresca admitted that the short turnaround forced him to make changes.
The club is not worried about the availability of the five players for that league game. Haaland did not pick up an injury at Villa, but both he and Maresca have spoken about the need to manage his workload after a long season for club and country.
It is not the first time the striker has been protected in this competition. Haaland also sat out the 5-0 win over Norwich in the previous round and was an unused substitute in the Champions League win over AEK Athens last week after picking up a knock against Ipswich.
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Man City’s confirmed lineup
Maresca has confirmed a heavily rotated lineup, with Marc Guehi wearing the captain’s armband. Geronimo Rulli starts in goal, protected by Rico Lewis, Vitor Reis, Guehi and Nico O’Reilly.
Ayyoub Bouaddi and Mateo Kovacic anchor the midfield, with Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Allan and 17-year-old Floyd Samba, who scored twice against Norwich in the last round, completing the XI.
City’s starting XI: Rulli, Lewis, Reis, Guéhi (C), O’Reilly, Bouaddi, Kovačić, Foden, Cherki, Allan, Samba.
The bench is full of quality. Enzo Fernandez is among the substitutes, along with Iliman Ndiaye and Jeremy Doku, who give Maresca attacking options if the game needs a spark. Rayan Ait-Nouri and Abdukodir Khusanov are also available in defense, while youngsters Reigan McAidoo, Braithwaite and Oliver complete the list.
