Manchester City striker to miss Brighton clash and South Africa star Percy Tau set for debut

Manchester City’s record goalscorer Sergio Aguero will miss the Premier League visit of Brighton on Wednesday as his spell in quarantine continues.
Pep Guardiola  will be without the talents of his key striker against Brighton on WednesdayPep Guardiola  will be without the talents of his key striker against Brighton on Wednesday
Pep Guardiola will be without the talents of his key striker against Brighton on Wednesday

Manchester City’s record goalscorer Sergio Aguero will miss the Premier League visit of Brighton on Wednesday as his spell in quarantine continues.

Aguero has tested negative for Covid-19 but must remain in self-isolation having been identified as a close contact of someone who has the virus.

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The 32-year-old, who has not started a game since October, had been expected to feature last weekend.

Asked about Aguero at a press conference, Guardiola said: “Quarantine, isolated – the rules. After nine or 10 days he will be back.”

The visit of Brighton is the first of three home games for City in the space of a week. Victories could pull City firmly in the title picture but Guardiola is not looking beyond Wednesday’s game.

“All I am concerned about is Brighton,” he said. “The rest, not even second in my thoughts.”

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City are unbeaten in their last 13 matches in all competitions and have won their last six as they build momentum, but Guardiola is wary of the threat of Brighton.

Guardiola said: “They are a joy to watch and analyse. When you see them, you are concerned about the quality.

“I said to the players we will have to be at a high standard to compete against them.”

Defenders Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte are out injured but forward Raheem Sterling is fit and Ederson could return in goal following his own isolation.

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Brighton will be without suspended midfielder Yves Bissouma, who sits out a one-game ban after receiving his fifth league booking of the season in the recent home draw against Wolves.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh is hoping to recover in time after being forced out of Sunday’s FA Cup penalty shoot-out win at Newport with a knock.

Jahanbakhsh will be monitored, while South Africa forward Percy Tau could feature again after making his debut off the bench against Newport.

Adam Lallana (illness), Danny Welbeck (knee), Aaron Connolly and Tariq Lamptey (both hamstring) remain sidelined, while Jose Izquierdo and Florin Andone are both working their way back from long-term injuries.

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City have won their last six matches and Brighton who are 17th in the league standings are in for a tough evening at the Etihad.

“They’re in a really good moment,” said Albion head coach Graham Potter said. “The Chelsea game in particular was one of the best games I have seen from a performance perspective, they were fantastic.

“They have been solid, they don’t concede much, defensively they are very sound and the fluidity that you associate with them has been getting better and better as you’d expect, they’re a top team.”

Brighton have lost all six of their league encounters with Pep Guardiola’s side since winning promotion back to the top flight in 2017, beaten 4-0 and 5-0 last season.

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They also lost 1-0 to City at Wembley in their FA Cup semi-final in 2019.

“We feel that we have improved, certainly performance-wise, results-wise we haven’t,” Potter said. “That’s the challenge for us, we have to improve that.

“Performance-wise we have got better, funnily enough the game at the Etihad last season we were quite satisfied with, even though the scoreline was 4-0.

“It’s a fantastic challenge, they’re one of the best teams in European football. What better way than to play against that sort of opposition?”

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Manchester City provisional squad: Ederson, Steffen, Walker, Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Harwood-Bellis, Mbete, Zinchenko, Mendy, Rodri, Gundogan, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Silva, Torres, Mahrez, Foden, Sterling, Jesus, Nmecha, Delap.

Brighton provisional squad: Sanchez, Steele, Burn, Webster, Dunk, Veltman, Bissouma, Zeqiri, March, White, Propper, Maupay, Trossard, Bernardo, MacAllister, Jahanbakhsh, Molumby, Gross, Tau, Jenks, Khadra, Sanders.