Grace Clinton's Man City debut on hold! England star still not fit after deadline day move from Man Utd - but fellow Lioness Alex Greenwood is back

Clinton signed for City from Man Utd last week in a blockbuster deadline day deal which saw Jess Park move in the other direction. However, she had been nursing a niggle prior to the switch, one which ruled her out of the Red Devils' two Champions League qualifiers last month, and is still "progressing" on that front, forcing City boss Andree Jeglertz to rule her out of this weekend's fixture.

Clinton won't be the only absentee as City look to bounce back from defeat to champions Chelsea on the opening day of the Women's Super League season. Lily Murphy, the talented young winger, left the pitch on a stretcher that night with a painful arm injury and the club is still waiting for the final word from consultants when it comes to her situation.

There is positive news, though. Club captain Greenwood has been back in training after limping off late in that defeat in London, so appears in line to lead her team out again. She may not be the only one to offer a boost, either, as Jeglertz said all of Aoba Fujino, Kerolin and Rebecca Knaak were "progressing quickly" after missing the season opener. The coach said Fujino and Kerolin in particular were "not that far away" from returning.

Brighton proved a tricky opponent for City last season, only losing 1-0 in Manchester and 2-1 on the south coast in a season that saw the Seagulls finished fifth in the WSL. They'll hope to improve even further after a strong summer window, headlined by the return of Lionesses hero Michelle Agyemang on loan from Arsenal, with City needing to be at their best in order to get a positive result this weekend as they look to mount a serious title charge in the coming months.