Man City fans express Kevin de Bruyne relief as Belgian returns to face Brighton

Kevin de Bruyne returned to the starting Manchester City starting line-up, to the fans' delight, for their clash with Brighton after suffering an injury scare in their Champions League win over Atletico Madrid which forced him to miss their defeat to Liverpool.

But it was further concern for Kyle Walker as John Stones was named in the defence alongside Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake with Joao Cancelo maintaining his spot at full-back. Ilkay Gundogan, who was also an unused substitute against Jurgen Klopp's side on Saturday, returned to the fold to captain the Blues.

City are looking to reclaim top spot after Liverpool leapfrogged them to move to the Premier League summit after their resounding 4-0 win over the Blues' cross-city rivals Manchester United at Anfield. Pep Guardiola's side were narrowly beaten at Wembley last time out to their title rivals as De Bruyne wasn't risked.

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There were initial hopes that he would start after he was named in the squad for Brighton's visit, alongside Gundogan. Ruben Dias was also named on the bench against Liverpool after his injury but continues his wait for his first start for City since his injury during their Fifth Round win over Peterborough.

Gabriel Jesus and Cole Palmer were among the pre-match doubts during the preparations for their latest, but were fit enough to be named on the bench. Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva both found the back of the net last time out, however the Portuguese international was the only one out of the pair to retain his spot with Grealish on the bench.

Man City XI to play Brighton: Ederson, Stones, Laporte, Ake, Cancelo, Rodrigo, Gundogan, Bernardo, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Foden.

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