Also returning to the side are Manuel Akanji and Jeremy Doku as manager Pep Guardiola shuffles his pack from the side that lost 1-0 at Arsenal last time out ahead of the October international break.
Rodrigo has missed the last three domestic matches after picking up a straight red card in our 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest last month.
It’s the first time Stones has figured in a Premier League starting eleven this season after recovering from a hip injury that kept him sidelined for almost two months.
After coming on from the bench at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month, the defender then figured for an hour in England’s impressive 3-1 EURO 2024 qualifying win over Italy in midweek.
Ortega is also handed a maiden Premier League start of the 2023/24 campaign as he comes in for Ederson who reverts to the bench.
From the side that lost out at Arsenal, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic also start on the substitute’s bench.
Kevin De Bruyne remains sidelined as he continued his recovery from surgery on a hamstring injury sustained at the start of the season.
Teams
CITY XI: Ortega, Walker (C), Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Bernardo, Foden, Doku, Alvarez, Haaland
Subs: Ederson, Dias, Phillips, Ake, Kovacic, Grealish, Gomez, Nunes, Lewis
BRIGHTON: Steele, Julio, Dunk, Milner, March, Pedro, Gross, Welbeck, Baleba, Mitoma, Adingra.
Subs: Verbruggen, Webster, Dahoud, Gilmour, Lallana, Ferguson, Van Hecke, Fati, Veltman.
Team news
Stefan Ortega is given an opportunity in goal in what will be the German’s fourth Premier League appearance overall for City and he will be shielded by a back four of skipper Kyle Walker, Stones, Akanji and Josko Gvardiol.
Rodrigo will be the holding midfielder with Bernardo Silva also providing support in the City engine room.
Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden are expected to be entrusted with providing City’s width while Argentine World Cup winner Julian Alvarez will once again be entrusted to be a potent attacking foil alongside central striker Erling Haaland.
21 today?
City return to action after the latest international break on the cusp of another notable landmark.
For should we overcome Roberto De Zerbi’s visitors, it would be our 21st consecutive home win across all competitions.
That would set a new record for the longest home winning run in all competitions by a Premier League side, surpassing Manchester United’s run of 20 games which was recorded between December 2010 and September 2011.
City’s remarkable Etihad run of victories started last January with our FA Cup third round victory over Chelsea.
No lack of incentive then ahead of what promises to a clash to savour.
Match stats
- City have won 10 of our 12 Premier League meetings with Brighton (D1 L1). The only exceptions have been in May 2021 (2-3) and May 2023 (1-1), having already become champions at the time of those matches.
- Brighton have never won an away league game against City (D2 L11), losing their last nine visits in a row by an aggregate score of 24-3.
- City have scored at least once in 25 of their 26 league games against Brighton, with the only exception being a 0-0 draw in November 1984 at the Goldstone Ground.
- There have been 37 goals scored in Brighton’s league matches this season (21 for and 16 against), the second-most of any side in Europe’s big five leagues, after Granada in LaLiga (38).
- City have lost consecutive league matches for the first time since December 2018, last losing three games in a row in the Premier League back in February-March 2016 under Manuel Pellegrini. Indeed, Pep Guardiola has lost three league games in a row just once before in his managerial career – with Bayern Munich in May 2015.
- Brighton have both scored and conceded in each of their eight games in the Premier League this season, in addition to their final four games last season. There have been two previous instances of a team scoring and conceding in their first nine games in a campaign in the competition – Middlesbrough in 2000-01 and Leicester City in 2015-16, when the Foxes won the title.
- City’s Phil Foden has scored in all five of his Premier League starts against Brighton (6 goals in total). Indeed, he’s been involved in more goals against the Seagulls than any other opponent in his league career so far (7 – 6 goals, 1 assist).
- Brighton’s goal kicks have ended in their own penalty area 96% of the time in the Premier League this season (53/55), the highest percentage of any side. The average distance the ball travels for their goal kicks is 8.1 metres, with the next lowest side being Manchester United at 19.2 metres.
- Comparatively, the average distance of Manchester City’s goal kicks is 39.2 metres, with 36% of their goal kicks ending in their own penalty area.
- Erling Haaland has failed to score in consecutive league matches for Manchester City, attempting just one shot across those two matches, after recording 31 shots from his first six games this season. Haaland has never failed to score in three consecutive Premier League games.
