Brighton and Hove Albion look to continue their unbeaten start to the new season in all competitions as they square off with Cardiff City in the second round of the Carabao Cup at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The Seagulls have opened up their Premier League campaign with consecutive victories over Burnley and Watford, allowing just one goal in their opening two matches.

It's been a good start to the EFL Championship season for the Bluebirds with two wins and two draws from their opening four games and they saw off Football League newcomers Sutton United 3-2 in the first round of the competition.

Team news

Brighton will be without influential forward Neal Maupay as he picked up a shoulder injury in the victory over Watford. Manager Graham Potter said this match "comes too soon" for him to feature, but he could be ready when the Seagulls return to action on Saturday.

The visitors back-line is decimated with Dan Burn, Tariq Lamptey and Joel Veltman ruled out. Danny Welbeck and Kjell Scherpen are also sidelined. Enock Mwepu is likely to get another start after debuting on Saturday. 

Mark McGuinness and Ciaron Brown have been ruled out while Ryan Giles should return to the Bluebirds' starting lineup after coming off of the bench on the weekend. 

Predicted lineups

Cardiff City: Smithies; Morrison, Flint, Nelson; Sang, Vaulks, Pack, Davies; Bacuna, Moore, Giles

Brighton and Hove Albion: Steele; Moder, Dunk, Duffy, Webster; March, Mwepu, Alzate, Groß; Mac Allister; Connolly

Ones to watch

With Maupay out, much of the Brighton threat should come from Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentinian grabbed the winner in the Seagulls' opening-day win over Burnley while Leandro Trossard also gives Potter another attacking option.

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Aden Flint is the top scorer in the EFL Championship as the Cardiff center-back has four goals. Star forward Kieffer Moore scored against Blackpool earlier in the season and will be eager to open his account in this competition.

Previous meetings

Cardiff have lost just once in their last eight meetings against Brighton with their last encounter being in the Premier League in 2019. On that occasion, the Bluebirds emerged from the South Coast with a 2-0 win.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing opened the scoring with a brilliant curled strike in the 22nd minute to hand the visitors the initiative and Sean Morrison extended Cardiff's lead with a header from a free-kick five minutes into the second half.

How to watch

This match was not selected for television coverage which means the EFL does not allow live streaming. Live audio is available on Cardiff City TV with an audio pass costing just £2.50.

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