Carabao Cup fourth round: Manchester City vs Brighton from the Etihad Stadium

Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and defender Marc Guehi were among five players given three days off to recharge after their loss to Aston Villa.

Both have received criticism for their recent form and were allowed some holiday time between the Villa game and Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Brighton.

Erling Haaland, Elliot Anderson and Josko Gvardiol have also been given time off and boss Enzo Maresca gave them permission to travel abroad if they wanted to.

He said: “After the Villa game we gave five players three days off to recover the energy. They are all on holiday. Three days off, energy. Go, come back with full energy then we go again.”

Maresca defends Guehi

Maresca also defended former Palace man Guehi and Donnarumma. Guehi also came under fire after a poor game against Ipswich recently when he was outpaced in the build-up to one goal and later conceded a penalty.

Maresca said: “I am completely happy with Marc because the way he reacts is fantastic.

“He is a top guy, he is one of the captains, he is a leader and I love Marc, to be honest.

“Same as Gigio, when they make some mistakes they recognise it. He has played almost all the minutes since the start of the season and so he is completely OK.”

Rulli will play against Brighton

Second-choice goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli will play in Donnarumma’s place in midweek, as he did against Norwich in City’s last League Cup outing.

The 34-year-old Argentinian returned to the club for a second spell in the summer following the departure of James Trafford and has settled well into his role as Donnarumma’s understudy.

“He is good,” Maresca said. “Before I arrived here, I had a conversation with him and he knows exactly his role, it is important.

“He is doing well, day by day, he is helping a lot and Gigio is helping a lot. When he played some minutes he was good and tomorrow he is going to play again.”

The match is the first of two in quick succession against the Seagulls at home, with Fabian Hurzeler’s side also visiting the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.

Maresca said: “They are doing very well, so both games are going to be tough. They are creating many chances and scoring many goals.

“We need to pay attention defensively and we need to do the right things offensively.”