City progressed to the fifth round of the Carabao Cup via a nail-biting penalty shooutout after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 after 90 minutes on Wednesday night.
The Seagulls have made a strong start in the Premier League and currently sit third in the table.
And looking ahead to this weekend, Maresca says his players need to be fully prepared for another tough battle over 90 minutes when we face them again at the Etihad in the 15:00 (UK) kick-off.
“At the end they’re going to be the same; they’re going to be front foot again,” he told City TV following our win on Wednesday night.
“They are winning games against any team, they are scoring goals so it’s going to be a tough game and we need to be ready.”
City sit top of the table and Maresca is building a close-knit squad, exemplified by the way the senior players that were missing from the League Cup win were with the team during the shootout.
“It’s nice [to see the spirit in the squad] especially the players that were out,” he added. “, Rúben, Joško, Erling, Elliot, Gigio, they were all there and it’s a nice feeling.”
Watch his interview in the video player above…
