Graham Potter has echoed the praise being handed to Albion’s defensive effort without their skipper.

Now he has told his side they must step up again as they face the champions.

Albion had a few first-half scares in the 1-1 draw versus West Ham but generally coped well without skipper Lewis Dunk and injured Joel Veltman.

Only Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have conceded fewer Premier League goals than the Seagulls this term.

And even City were breached three times at Newcastle on Friday.

Ben White took many of the plaudits in a match attended by England boss Gareth Southgate.

But Potter highlighted the type of work players in all departments put in against the Euro-chasing Hammers.

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He told The Argus: “I thought generally we defended well as a team.

“Better in the second half but I thought we were against against a team that ask you a lot of questions in terms of how you defend, because they can attack you in transition with big spaces, with Antonio, Lingard is dangerous and picks up spaces but they can also play in between the lines and they can also cross from wide and score that way.

“As you would expect for a team challenging for the European places, they can attack you in lots of ways.

“I thought the boys did it well as a team.

“Without our skipper, also Joel, Tariq and Solly.

“We have had to adjust as the season has gone on, really.

“Credit to the players, they gave everything.

“The intent was good, like I said after the match.

“It’s a different challenge against Manchester City.

“It’s another step up, of course. We have to be mindful of that.

“We need to take that intent that we had.

“We have to take that organisation into the game because they give you the biggest test, Man City.”

Albion, could slip down the fewest-goals-against table over the last two games because those standings are very close.

They have currently conceded 38.

But last term ten teams let in fewer than Potter’s men, who conceded 54.

Various metrics will tell you it is not just down to goalkeeping saves or last-ditch clearances.

The back line have protected the keeper and in turn been helped by those ahead of them.

Potter said: “The credit goes to the players, of course, because they are the ones out there doing the work.

“As a team, we’ve done it well over the season. There has been organisation, in the main a desire to work as a team, defend as a team.

“You have to be balanced. If you are too defensive, then it can be a problem in terms of scoring goals or creating anything.

“Equally, if you are too attacking you can cause yourself a problem if you’re conceding all the time, so balance is key.

“Generally, performance wise, we’ve got that balance okay, although we can still improve.”

It is unclear who plays for City this evening, although Raheem Sterling is the only away player to score a hat-trick at the venue.

Potter is aware of the values which will be in place and will demand his players match them.

He said: “They have wonderful players but they are a team and they are organised as a team and they fight like their lives depend on it in every situation.

“They are an example of how to be. They conduct themselves well, they’re so competitive in every competition, they’re in everything to win.

“They do everything so well, attack so well, defend so high, it’s so difficult to create anything against them.

“They have been the best team and you look at all the points they have accumulated over the last few years, all the tournaments they’ve gone in for, the cup competitions they fully commit to.

“Of course they have got resources, but so have other teams and the way they go about it is really, really special.”