Enzo Maresca has insisted Gianluigi Donnarumma is not undroppable even if he still will be the first player the Manchester City manager selects this weekend.
The Italian goalkeeper has been under intense scrutiny following several errors in the early stages of the season.
And speculation about his position intensified following a superb display by reserve 'keeper Geronimo Rulli in City's midweek League Cup win over Brighton.
But Maresca made it clear Donnarumma will be back between the posts when table-toppers City face the currently third-placed Seagulls at the Etihad again in the Premier League on Saturday.
"I think it is one thing to say that in this moment it is Gigio plus 10, and another thing to say undroppable," Maresca told a pre-match press conference on Friday. "They are two different things.
"There is no player that is undroppable but in this moment it is Gigio plus 10. In this moment I see it like this."
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has said he is bidding for revenge after his side were beaten on penalties by City on Wednesday. Rulli made two saves in the shoot-out after City had twice battled back to draw 2-2.
"Again, this is going to be a tough game," Maresca said. "No matter if they (Brighton) play in a different competition or with a different team, they always try to be front foot.
"They attack with many players, they score many goals, they create many chances.
"But we're going to try to do our best and try to win the game. If it's revenge or these kinds of things, it's more about them, not about us."
Hurzeler also claimed City, who are appealing after being found guilty last month on over 100 charges of breaking Premier League financial rules, had been lucky in the League Cup tie.
Maresca, however, played down those comments by saying: "This is what he said. Every manager can say something different. It depends on what you see with your eyes.
"But I respect what he said. We try to prepare for the game knowing what they are going to do. We try to prepare for the game in the best way we can and continue if we can to win games."