Manchester City will look to book their place against in the EFL Cup quarter-finals when they play host to Brighton on Wednesday evening.
Enzo Maresca's side suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season on Saturday, with Nicolas Jackson netting a brace in a 2-1 win for Aston Villa.
Maresca's side have remained remarkably consistent this season in the wake of the club's well-documented issues off the pitch, and they will look to get back to winning ways at the Etihad in midweek.
City kicked off their EFL Cup campaign against Norwich last month, with Maresca's decision to deploy a heavily rotated side featuring a number of academy graduates paying off as they ran out 5-0 winners.
While their Premier League opposition are likely to prove a sterner test on Wednesday, Maresca revealed in his pre-match press conference that he will rest a number of key players for the fixture.
Will Erling Haaland play against Brighton?
Speaking on Tuesday Enzo Maresca revealed that Erling Haaland is one of several first-team players that has been afforded an extended period of rest ahead of their next league game.
The Italian stressed that while Haaland did not pick up an injury in City's defeat by Villa he wants to ensure not to overwork the striker amid a congested calendar.
In addition to Haaland, the likes of Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Josko Gvardiol have all been rested for the EFL Cup tie and will not be part of the matchday squad on Wednesday.
"After the Villa game, we gave five players three days off," said Maresca.
"Erling, Ruben, Elliot, Gigi and Josko. They are all on holiday. Three days off, energy, go, come back full of energy and then go again."
After a busy summer that saw him play a key role in Norway's run to the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup Haaland has enjoyed a characteristically prolific start to the 26/27 campaign.
After drawing a blank in City's opener against Bournemouth, the 26-year-old has netted at least once in each of the club's Premier League games and has scored four times from his two starts in the UEFA Champions League.
