Confirmed Line-Ups: Brighton vs Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City face a tricky test away at the Amex Stadium as they take on Brighton and Hove Albion on matchday three of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.

Pep Guardiola’s men were handed their first defeat of the new season last week, with goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha helping Tottenham secure all three points at the Etihad Stadium last week.

City saw summer signing Rayan Ait-Nouri go off just after 20 minutes against Tottenham with an ankle injury but the Algerian left-back has been deemed fit to travel and will be available for selection on the south coast.

Rayan Cherki was given his full Manchester City competitive debut against Tottenham and after failing to impress like he did in the opening week win at Wolves, the 22-year-old will be hoping for another start to justify his manager’s faith after a quick start to life at the Etihad Stadium following a £34 million transfer from Lyon this summer.

James Trafford gave away a pretty avoidable goal last week and there have been question marks raised on the 22-year-old Manchester City academy graduate’s ability on the ball in the last week, with Ederson continually linked with a move to Turkey.

Guardiola refused to rule out Ederson – who was on the bench against Tottenham – being called back into the starting XI against Brighton, which could have implications on Manchester City’s desire to retain the 31-year-old Brazilian beyond the September 1 transfer deadline.

Manchester City cannot afford a lousy start to their Premier League campaign if they are serious about mounting a challenge for the title this term – having recorded their lowest points tally in the league (71) under Guardiola in the previous season.

Rodri and Phil Foden are also available for selection, though the former will only be back to full fitness after the September international break, with Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol also progressing towards full fitness.

Ahead of the 1:30 PM (UK) kick-off on Sunday at the Amex Stadium, here are the confirmed line-ups from Brighton and Manchester City managers Fabian Hürzeler and Pep Guardiola respectively!

Brighton

Starting XI: Verbruggen, Dunk, Van Hecke, Veltman, De Cuyper, Hinshelwood, Baleba, Gomez, Minteh, Mitoma, Welbeck

Substitutes: Steele, Gruda, Georginio, Milner, Boscagli, Ayari, Kadioglu, O’Riley, Coppola

Manchester City

Starting XI: Trafford, Nunes, Khusanov, Stones, Ait-Nouri, Rodri, Silva, Bobb, Rejinders, Marmoush, Haaland

Substitutes: Ederson, Dias, Ake, Doku, Nico, Gundogan, Akanji, O’Reilly, Lewis