Brighton vs Manchester City: Duo make long-awaited returns; versatile £25m star is surprisingly missing

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Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley are back in the Brighton squad after lengthy injuries – but there is a notable absentee for the visit of Manchester City.

Simon Adingra has replaced Ferdi Kadioglu in the starting line-up, which is otherwise unchanged following the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool last weekend. The Turkish international is unavailable due to a ‘minor’ toe injury.

The same can be said for full-back Tariq Lamptey, who is also not in the squad.

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Pedro and O’Riley feature on Albion’s bench – a major boost to Fabian Hurzeler.

Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley are back in the Brighton squad after lengthy injuries. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley are back in the Brighton squad after lengthy injuries. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley are back in the Brighton squad after lengthy injuries. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

O’Riley – a £25m summer signing from Celtic – had a nightmare start to his Albion career following an ankle injury six minutes into his debut in a Carabao Cup match against Crawley Town.

The Denmark international has been training with Fabian Hurzeler's first team group for the past few weeks after succesful ankle surgery and could feature against Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions.

Brazil star Pedro, meanwhile, has been side-lined for the last six matches due to an ankle sustained in the closing stages of the 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest in September.

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The £30m striker has scored twice from just three starts this term.

Carlos Baleba, who missed last weekend’s narrow 2-1 loss at Liverpool with a knee issue, is fit enough for the bench.

However, Lewis Dunk and Yankuba Minteh are still unavailable. Concerningly, there are no recognised defenders on the bench.

Brighton: Bart Verbruggen, Joel Veltman, Jan Paul van Hecke, Igor Julio, Pervis Estupinan, Yasin Ayari, Jack Hinshelwood, Simon Adingra, Georginio Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma, Danny Welbeck

Substitutes: Jason Steele, Brajan Gruda, Joao Pedro, Julio Enciso, Jakub Moder, Carlos Baleba, Mats Wieffer, Evan Ferguson, Matt O’Riley

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