Erling Haaland will play no part in Manchester City's Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Brighton on Wednesday night after Enzo Maresca sent his five biggest names on holiday — a three-day break handed to Haaland, captain Ruben Dias, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Josko Gvardiol and Elliot Anderson following Saturday's defeat at Aston Villa.
Five stars sent on holiday
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Maresca confirmed the five senior players had all been given time away from the club after the weekend's 2-1 Premier League loss at Villa Park, with City's schedule offering no breathing room.
"After Villa, we gave five players three days off. Erling, Elliot, Gigio, Ruben and Josko," Maresca told Manchester City's official website. "Go away on holiday. Three days off, go, come back. Full energy."
"In terms of how we plan, they [the games] are so close so we need to make some changes," he added. "We have one more session and then we decide for tomorrow."
It means City will face the Premier League's most prolific attack without their top scorer, their captain, their first-choice goalkeeper and two of their first-choice defenders — all in one night.
Rulli starts as the changes pile up
Argentine goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli will start in Donnarumma's place, making only his second appearance for the club. "Yes [Rulli will play tomorrow]," Maresca confirmed. "He's good. Before I arrived here, I had a conversation with him, he knows his role and that's important. Day by day he is helping a lot. When he has played, he was good and tomorrow he will play again."
Rulli kept a clean sheet on his debut in the 5-0 third-round win over Norwich, and Read Man City reports that Matheus Nunes remains injured, opening the door again for Rico Lewis, while Marc Guehi, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov are the defensive options in the absence of Dias and Gvardiol.
With Anderson rested, teenage midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi is among those pushing for minutes, and 17-year-old Floyd Samba — who scored twice against Norwich and started last week when Haaland was benched against AEK Athens — could come into consideration again up front.
So what: Brighton smell blood at the Etihad
This is no gentle draw for a shadow side. Brighton have scored more goals than any other team in the top flight this season, and in the last round they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Old Trafford. Maresca knows it: "They are very brave, aggressive and when they have the ball they attack with so many players. They create so many chances. We need to do the right things offensively and defensively."
The gamble is calculated. Brighton return to the Etihad on Saturday in the Premier League, the second of two meetings in four days, and Maresca is clearly protecting his core for the game that carries points. But a cup exit at home, with a weakened side picked apart by the league's best attack, would land very differently from a noble rotation story — especially after defeat at Villa.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Maresca's holiday gamble is either squad management at its smartest or an open invitation to a cup upset. Resting five stars at once tells you exactly where the Carabao Cup sits in City's priorities — but Brighton, of all teams, are built to punish a side that takes a night off. If City's fringe men deliver, Maresca looks a genius by Saturday. If they fold, three days on a beach will be remembered as the week the season wobbled. Should managers be sending their best players on holiday in October — or is Maresca right to protect them?
