Manager Pep Guardiola says goalkeeper Ederson has had “a bit of rest” after returning to Manchester City 48 hours after the Brazil cap.
The 30-year-old played in both of the Selecao’s World Cup qualifiers last week, starting with Wednesday night’s 1-1 loss to Venezuela and 2-0 to Uruguay.
Ederson flew to England immediately after the game but returned to Manchester on Thursday morning.
After two difficult games against Brazil and a brief transition period against Brighton, Guardiola saw fit to rest Ederson and replace him with Stefan Ortega, who is not playing for the national team.
Guardiola explained the lack of his first choice in the starting line-up: “He was in Brazil and could have played, but I thought we should rest him a bit.
That’s all.”
Champions City have lost their last two Premier League games against Wolves and Arsenal, and defeat at Brighton means they have lost three in a row for the first time since Manuel Pellegrini took charge in 2016.
Asked how his side could beat the Seagulls and win again, Guardiola said: “But against Brighton they have a difficult way of playing, they often have the ball and there is a lot of pressure.”
Commenting on Brighton’s remaining tasks and the signing of former City veteran James Milner, Roberto De Zervi said: “The game against City is the toughest game.
They have the best coaches in the world, but we are here to compete and fight.
Make sure you try to win the game.
“We have a lot of respect for them but we want something to happen in 90 minutes.” “James Milner is important because of his experience, but he is still an important player for us, very important.” “We suffered because of his injury and now we will be happy to have him on the field.”
City’s injury crisis is beginning to ease as Guardiola has assembled a very strong bench with Ruben Diaz, Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish and Mathieu Nunes.
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