Albion head coach Graham Potter knows how big of a miss Yves Bissouma will be for his side this evening when they travel to the Etihad to face Manchester City (6pm, BT Sport).

The 24-year-old midfielder is serving a one-match ban after picking up his fifth booking of the season in their 3-3 draw against Wolves at the Amex.

Bissouma has been one of the Seagulls star performers so far this season and that has been highlighted by the stats.

He has made the third-most tackles in the Premier League with only N’Golo Kante and Oriel Romeu have made more.

The Malian international is sixth in terms of the most fouls made with 28 to his name.

He has also played in 16 of Albion’s 17 league games so far this season and the only one he was missed was due to him serving a three-match ban after being sent off in the win at Newcastle in September.

Bissouma (16) has made the joint most appearances for Albion in the league so far this campaign along with Solly March, Adam Webster and Ben White.

However, Potter hopes they can adapt in his absence.

He said: “We miss all our players when they are not available but it is part of the challenge of football.

“We have a squad and it is up to someone else to fill that space.

“Yves has been performing well, he has taken a step forward in terms of his own performance levels.

“We missed him earlier in the season when he missed three games. It is something we are unfortunately a little bit used to but we will adapt and try our best.

“We haven’t got another Yves Bissouma. Whoever plays you have to make sure they bring their qualities and strengths to the game.

“That is the challenge for us. Clearly, you want as many good players as you can on the pitch against Man City and we are disappointed not to have Yves.

“But we have got other good players that are ready to play and want to play so we just have to find the right combination to be competitive against one of the best teams in the world.”

That does leave the question of who will come into the side in the place of Bissouma.

With Potter confirming that Adam Lallana will miss the game and Steven Alzate being a ‘possibility’ for the squad but not to start, who will get the nod.

Davy Propper has been building up his game time after recovering from an achilles injury.

He has played over 45 minutes in the Seagulls last three matches in all competitions.

White has also played in midfield for the Seagulls this season.

But with him switching between centre back and right back in recent matches, it would be difficult to see why Potter would move him back into midfield especially with Lamptey still out injured.

After a tough game against Newport on Sunday, which saw some of their first-team regulars play the full match, Albion have not had much chance to recover.

The Seagulls will also have six players missing for their clash with City through either injury or suspension.

Despite that Albion have shown they can cope with a gruelling schedule having played three games in six days over the festive period.

But Potter believes his squad is more than capable, no matter who plays.

He said: “It is our job to make sure we recover well.

“The guys are used to doing that. They are professionals, they want to get out there and play.

“I think we will take time to monitor that and to make sure we make the right decisions in terms of who can play.

“We have got a group, not just 11 players. Some will play, some won’t, some will start, some will finish.

“That is how it is and that is fine because we have a capable group.”