Brighton & Hove Albion

There are eight games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Chelsea v Manchester United (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Leeds United

• Brentford v Nottingham Forest

• Coventry City v Sunderland - first half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, second half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Hull City v Ipswich Town

• Manchester City v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Crystal Palace (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Aston Villa v Fulham (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

How to follow the Premier League weekend across the BBC

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Man City v Brighton" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Coventry match", for example.

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Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

Top-flight leaders Manchester City were given an almighty scare at home by third-placed Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday but they have won their past 10 league games on Halloween.

After making a combined 16 changes to their starting line-ups in midweek, which City won on penalties, both sides will be back to full strength for Saturday's rematch in the league (15:00 GMT).

Signs of vulnerability for City

Moving on from Pep Guardiola was never likely to be easy for Manchester City but their status as league leaders and Carabao Cup quarter-finalists shows they remain an excellent side.

Nonetheless, City's 100% winning league record this season was ended by Aston Villa last Saturday and they were rattled by visitors Brighton in midweek before winning a penalty shootout.

One weakness of Enzo Maresca's City is that they can be open in midfield and invite pressure. They have faced nine shots from counter-attacks across their past five games in all competitions, compared to five in their first nine fixtures.

While just one counter-attack has led to a goal, City have followed a run of five clean sheets in six matches by conceding 11 times in five subsequent outings.

Only five teams in Europe's five biggest leagues have a worse recent defensive record in all competitions over that period.

Albion's least successful trip

Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler felt Manchester City "had the luck" during Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie, adding: "We have a great chance on Saturday to take revenge."

He has elected to keep his squad in the north-west in-between successive visits to the Etihad Stadium, which come amid a sequence of five away matches in a row. Brighton are winless from the first three, each in a different competition.

Albion, though, remain the league's top scorers and a point this weekend would give them their highest tally after nine games of a top-flight season.

They are unbeaten in four league matches against Manchester City, including back-to-back draws at the Etihad, but have never won away in this fixture in 16 attempts.

It's the most times Brighton have faced a league opponent away without ever winning, as well as being Manchester City's longest unbeaten home record against a team without ever losing.

Manchester City knocked Brighton out of the Carabao Cup on penalties on Wednesday but I don't think we learned too much because both sides made so many changes.

I backed both teams to win last week - and was wrong both times - but I felt City played well against Aston Villa and were a bit unlucky to lose, and the same applied to Brighton in their defeat against Liverpool. They definitely had enough chances to get something from the game.

I am covering this game for Radio 5 Live. There should be some goals in it and I can see Erling Haaland getting a couple of them.

Sutton's prediction: 3-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Chema Andres and Ferdi Kadioglu are expected to return to the matchday squad after missing the Carabao Cup game with respective hip injuries.

• Hurzeler confirmed a decision was made to rest Charalampos Kostoulas in the cup so he will be available on Saturday.

• Pascal Struijk remains sidelined but is training with the under-21s so should return to the senior squad next week.

• Hurzeler said "success is the only revenge" for the EFL Cup defeat at Manchester City and his players can "take confidence" from the way they performed over 90 minutes.

• He said "there will be different players on the pitch" for both teams but their "approach won't change." Hurzeler added: "We hope we finish this game with a better feeling than yesterday."

• On staying in Manchester and them being away from their families: "We try to be a family for the players and stick together in these moments. It's a big pro that we can connect with them and they're not alone in apartments. Not every player has family around so we can really build on connection with each other. Make the best out of it."

• He said the cup performance has given him options for his starting XI, but it will come down to who is "mentally and physically refreshed" to deal with the "intensity and demands" of Enzo Maresca's side.

• In response to whether a top four finish is the aim given their start to the season: "We should be a club that has high expectations. We have long-term goals, but speaking about them doesn't help us achieve them. What does, is doing the work. That's the only thing we can control."

• He said they "have to be fearless" week-in week-out to achieve the best results and this is what he instils in them in training.

Hit play above to hear more from Hurzeler or listen on BBC Sounds here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's EFL Cup game between Manchester City and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

Man City fans

Glynn: Enzo Maresca got out of jail with a poor team selection. They roughed us up so it was a moral victory. We now know what to expect on Saturday!

Harry: About what I expected from the B team. We were probably second best for the majority of the match against a fantastic Brighton side. I think the referee needed to be harsher. Rulli was fantastic and our subs made the difference. Getting a win under any circumstances was unexpected and very welcome. Credit to Brighton, showing us once again that there's a million better ways to spend £125m than Enzo Fernandez.

Brighton fans

David: So proud of Brighton to have been in the lead on two occasions and never gave up against probably the strongest current Premier League team so far this season. A horrible way to go out. Same again at the weekend, without penalties, please.

James: Albion needed to be more clinical. They had chance after chance to put the game to bed in the first half of the second half but weren't able to convert. Having said that, it was still an excellent performance and the quality of the football the boys are playing at the moment is fantastic.

Nick: Good performance. Better team on the night, should have put away one of our chances at 2-1 to kill it off. We didn't and paid the price. Had a slightly phoney feel to it, with the "main event" being on Saturday. Hopefully Hurzeler will use the disappointment to spark up a first league victory for the Albion at the Etihad.

Olly: Another good performance that should have ensured a win but for missed opportunities to finish the game off again. Unfortunately, our penalty shootout record is poor so another chance of a trophy is gone.

Forward Georginio Rutter says he needs to "step up" to fight for a place in Brighton's starting line-up.

The Seagulls exited the Carabao Cup on Wednesday after a 2-2 draw against Manchester City turned in to a penalty shootout defeat. But Rutter earned his first goal and assist in the competition - taking his total goal contributions to seven for the season.

"For a striker it's good to score but it's a bit annoying when we don't win. Of course I take it but it's better when you win," Rutter told BBC Radio Sussex.

"I tried to give my best, I know there's competition in the team. Babis [Charalampos Kostoulas] is doing very well, so I need to step up and try to make this."

On the game, he added: "We missed some chances, myself as well. Of course I scored and assisted but I think I could do better from some action. But it's football.

"It was a good opportunity for us but now we have to stay focused because we have a lot of games to come in other competitions as well.

"The last two games were very frustrating and we have to be consistent and win some games. I think we have the quality to win a game like this so, we have to be ready and come back for a bit of revenge."

Hear the full interview above or listen on BBC Sounds here

Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler speaking to BBC Radio Sussex following the penalty shooutout defeat at Manchester City in the Carabao Cup: "I'm disappointed as the game was there for us [to win], but we conceded a few goals which were very unlucky.

"Overall, there were plenty of positives to take away from the performance.

"My players showed togetherness and always tried to keep going. We had plenty of chances that we couldn't score. Sometimes you also need a bit of luck and we didn't have that.

"The good thing is that we can come back in three days and get revenge so that we can stand here with a better feeling after the game."

To hear more from Hurzeler press play below or listen here on BBC Sounds

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The only previous League Cup meeting came between Manchester City and Brighton came on 24 September 2008, 23 days after City's takeover by the Abu Dhabi Football Group.

On that night, Brighton – then a League One outfit – shocked a top-flight City side containing the likes of Kasper Schmeichel, Vincent Kompany and Daniel Sturridge on penalties to reach the next round.

It looked like being a repeat success on this occasion but Geronimo Rulli spoiled Brighton's latest trip to the north – the Seagulls had dumped out Manchester United across the city in the previous round.

In the first half, Diego Gomez and Georginio Rutter had shots from range in quick succession, both of which went straight into the grasp of Rulli, before Malick Yalcouye struck from close range.

Before that, Rayan Cherki had been the liveliest player, going on a weaving run before scuffing a shot straight at Steele, while a free-kick from the edge of the box failed to clear the wall.

And the Frenchman proved to be protagonist as the match wore by helping his side through.

It was his free-kick which Vitor Reis converted and then the former Lyon man stepped up to score City's fifth penalty in the shootout - allowing Rulli's superb stop from Dunk to be the match-winning moment.

City will now be confident of retaining their trophy after seeing last season's beaten finalists Arsenal stunned by Fleetwood Town on Tuesday.

Brighton will not have to wait long to try and gain revenge for this result, heading back to Etihad Stadium to face City in the Premier League on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Manchester City's performance

What did you make of Brighton's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Thursday for a selection of your replies.

There are five Carabao Cup fourth round games on Wednesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Brighton (19:30)

• Bournemouth v Aston Villa

• Fulham v Crystal Palace

• Sunderland v Brentford

• Liverpool v Chelsea (20:00)

Kick-off times 19:45 GMT unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Chelsea v Hull City" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Everton match", for example.

New this season: Live match updates

Fans of Premier League clubs can now get real-time scores live on their phone lock screen for every game.

Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

Find out more here

Image source, BBC Sport

New this season: Match of the Day Predictor

Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

Players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or on this link

Brighton have no concerns about losing 23-year-old Paraguay midfielder Diego Gomez, despite interest from AC Milan and Atletico Madrid. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup game against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium (kick-off 19:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Chema Andres and Ferdi Kadıoglu have "very painful" hip injuries so are doubts for the cup game. They are expected to recover in time for Saturday.

• Pascal Struijk is unavailable but fellow centre-back Michael Svoboda is set to return to the squad.

• Mats Wieffer and Yankuba Minteh will travel and then a decision will be made on their level of involvement.

• Hurzeler said the last-16 cup tie is "a do-or-die game" so they "are fully focused" in their preparations for it.

• On the opponents: "We know that City may be the best team in the league at the moment. It is another tough challenge for us, but we are ready for that, and we are going there to try and get to the next round."

• He said Enzo Maresca's side are playing with a "clear formation and clear style of play", but "press very intensely with man rotation" so it's a new challenge for his team.

• Hurzeler confirmed the side will stay and train in Manchester after Wednesday's game until the weekend as they play City again on Saturday.

• On facing City twice in the same week: "It's about competing then recovering, adjusting, adapting things, and competing again - it's really going from game to game."

Listen to full live commentary of Man City v Brighton on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds

Listen to more from Hurzeler above or on BBC Sounds

Brighton and Croatia defender Luka Vuskovic, 19, continues to draw serious interest from Europe's elite, with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona joining the chase for the centre-back. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Liverpool and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

Liverpool fans

Zaid: I thought we played fantastically, particularly in the first half our three big-money signings showed up and proved their worth. In the second half, we defended with passion, particularly Ronald Araujo was brilliant. But we need to clean up our errors, from Alisson yesterday and Virgil van Dijk on Wednesday. Florian Wirtz hobbling off also didn't look great, but positive signs this match. Either Alexander Isak, Wirtz or Bradley Barcola have to be POTM.

Martin: Great performance from Liverpool, battling hard against an in-form Brighton side. Wirtz, Barcola and Araujo were outstanding, and the Anfield crowd were in full voice, roaring the lads on.

Kev: A good day at the office. Still need to tighten up at the back and stay focused for the full 90 minutes. Fortunate not to concede. The harder you work, the luckier you get.

Sam: That's exactly the start we need to be starting all our matches. Brighton have come from a run of great wins but Liverpool showed that they can keep Anfield a fortress. Wonderful to see the trio of Wirtz, Isak and Barcola being involved in the goals, and Araujo is an absolute beast at the back and not afraid to put in big challenges. Great addition this season!

Brighton fans

Adam: Past two games we've not had that same quality in front of goal and the high press wasn't there as much against Liverpool. Overall happy with the performance, but if Yasin Ayari had buried that first chance the game could've been very different.

Fran: Not our best performance. Didn't seem to want to shoot like other weeks, kept trying to walk it in. Uncharacteristically sloppy in our passing as well. On to the next game!

David: Do not despair! Two fortunate goals for Liverpool, and we could have scored on a number of occasions. 65% of possession and every time we had the ball it looked as if the whole team knew what to do with it. An excellent performance, unfortunate result.

Sarah: Well done lads! Anfield is pretty intimidating - Liverpool played well but so did we. Losing Ferdi Kadioglu was a big blow and Ayari missed a couple he might have got another day but hey ho, we never gave up and kept our energy and tight passing till the end. No shame in losing at Anfield - I'm actually surprised it's their first home win!

Brighton forward Georginio Rutter says his side's defeat by Liverpool was "frustrating" and that the Cherries must "minimise the mistakes."

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex, the former Leeds man said: "I think if you want to play at the top of the table, we have to minimise the mistakes. Today we concede two goals early in the game, so after it's a bit hard to come back but we showed good character. We never gave up, we tried to push until the end. Unfortunately, today we didn't score. A bit frustrating."

Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen added: "We know it's a tough place, it's a good opponent, but we had all the belief and confidence that we could get a win here. And I think it was possible as well. If you look at the game, we gave it away in the first 20-30 minutes."

Listen to the full clip above or on BBC Sounds here

You can also listen to Fabian Hurzeler speaking to BBC Radio Sussex here

Brighton and RB Leipzig are among the clubs interested in Juventus' 19-year-old midfielder Adin Licina, who is on loan at Cremonese. (Gianluca di Marzo), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Fabian Hurzeler spoke to Sky Sports after Brighton's defeat against Liverpool: "It was a missed opportunity. I think everyone felt that we could take something from this game. We came here to play our approach and we made two mistakes. We had plenty of chances to score. We kept going, and they defended well in the box. We did everything; we had to avoid the mistakes, but we tried to keep going. We didn't have luck on our side today.

"We had a big chance with Ayari. If this goes in, the game is different. We lost our structure when 2-0 down. We have to analyse and do better. Only one team is playing and trying to win.

"We have to take the positives and have to get an understanding and keep our level to avoid mistakes to win games here. We came here to win; everyone saw this. We keep going and try to make it better next time."

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton have made a superb start to the season, but this was not their day.

They had a 5-0 win over rivals Crystal Palace last time out in the Premier League, while they have also progressed into the last 16 of the Carabao Cup and are unbeaten after two matches in the main phase of the Conference League.

The Seagulls have never finished higher than sixth in English football's top division and their fans are hoping for a push for a Champions League spot after their impressive start.

But after the win over Palace, boss Fabian Hurzeler was quick to shut down any talk that they could be involved in the Premier League title race, and how they cope with the extra fixtures will be a key factor.

Games are coming thick and fast for Brighton, who drew 0-0 in the Czech Republic against Jablonec on Thursday in the Conference League.

This was the second of five successive away matches and perhaps a reality check for Brighton's ambitions this season.

Hurzeler was left to rue what might have been had Yasin Ayari put them ahead following a lovely move from his Brighton side, whose total of 23 goals is the highest in the top flight.

Diego Gomez, a goalscorer from the halfway line against Palace, played a superb through ball to Pascal Gross and his pull-back found Ayari, but the Sweden midfielder could only shoot over when he should have scored.

Brighton quickly found themselves two goals behind, and despite having more of the ball, securing 64% of possession, the visitors could only manage one shot on target as they failed to score in the Premier League for the first time this season.

Both of these sides are next in action with Carabao Cup last-16 ties on Wednesday, with Liverpool at home to Chelsea. Brighton face another tough away task in the north west, at Manchester City.

Starting XI:

Bart Verbruggen: Made some good saves in the first half but was undone by the deflection for the first goal and had no chance for Isak's strike. 5

Ferdi Kadioglu: Forced off with an injury in the sixth minute. Was holding his hip as he came off. 5

Luka Vuskovic: Part of a back line that conceded in the league for the first time since 16 September, but the 19-year-old looked good on the ball. 6

Lewis Dunk: Like Vuskovic, battled well but the Brighton back line were punished by Liverpool's ruthlessness. 5

Olivier Boscagli: Lost the ball for Liverpool's second goal and struggled to deal with Barcola. Booked for a foul on Barcola just before half-time and replaced at the break. 4

Pascal Gross: Should have got an assist when he teed up Ayari but did not cover himself in glory when his clearance landed at Wirtz's feet and the subsequent strike deflected off Gross and ended up in the back of the net. 5

Chema Andres: Was good on the ball and tidy in possession but took a knock and was replaced early on in the second half. 6

Diego Gomez: Played a lovely through-ball to Gross for Ayari's chance and linked up really well with Joao Costinha. 7

Yasin Ayari: Missed a huge chance when the game was 0-0 and his side were punished shortly after, then hit the post with a good effort in the first half. 6

Maxim De Cuyper: Had a quiet first half and dropped into left-back for the second half after Jack Hinshelwood came on for Boscagli. 5

Charalampos Kostoulas: Got on the ball plenty and always offered an option but did not do enough to truly threaten Alisson. 6

Substitutes:

Costinha (on 6, Kadioglu): Thrown in early on and linked well with Gomez going forward but struggled to contain Gakpo. 6

Hinshelwood (on 46, Boscagli): Did well after coming on but could not get Brighton back in the game. 6

Yalcouye (on 54, Andres): Did not get on the ball enough after coming on. 5

Rutter (on 75, Ayari): N/A

Subs not used: Steele, Hadjam, Rutter, David, Osman, O'Riley.

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