A resurgent Manchester City travel to take on one of the formidable form team at home in Brentford, with both clubs set to target crucial wins.
Brentford have been revered for their top-class form in front of the home crowd this season and will hope to continue that against Manchester City this week. At least until the game against Arsenal, they had the best record in the division and might still be within a shout of retaining that.
However, there was a bit of shocker at the weekend as Championship side Plymouth Argyle managed to steer away with a victory at the Gtech Community Stadium. On to the Premier League, and Brentford did respond well to their home loss to Arsenal, with an emphatic victory over Southampton away from home.
Thomas Frank’s men might have to bring back their solid home form when they host Manchester City at the Gtech Community Stadium. On the other hand, Manchester City topped off their recent resurgent form with an emphatic victory over lower-league opposition Salford City with an 8-0 scoreline.
Pep Guardiola must have been happy with the idea of such a victory, and he finally seems to have taken his team out of the rut they were in a few weeks ago. The victory over Salford ensured their progression into the next round of the FA Cup, and their recent victories over Leicester City and West Ham United have brought new life into the club.
In any case, there is a long road ahead to recover from the many dropped points in the Premier League, and Guardiola will target a third consecutive win on the bounce against Brentford. In recent years, Manchester City have had problems when facing the Bees, although Guardiola will hope for his players to continue their form in games.
Meanwhile, they will hope to climb up the table, as their primary objective now is to consider a place in the top four, and then probably, if given a chance, they will target a late charge on the title. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Brentford
There have been a few positives in recent weeks, such as the return of Rico Henry, who played a few minutes in the game against Plymouth Argyle. The Brentford full-back is not expected to feature against Manchester City, and Thomas Frank will revert to his regulars this season.
There is still a long injury list for the manager to contend with, as at least eight players are missing from action. Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg are the preferred choices at the heart of the defence,. Mads Roerslev and Keane Lewis-Potter are set to play in the full-back roles, with the latter signing a new deal with the club.
The midfield setup will look rather familiar, with Christian Norgaard, Mathias Jensen and Mikkel Damsgaard all set to start there. Yoane Wissa will lead the line for Brentford against Manchester CIty, while Kevin Schade will be preferred on the left-hand side. Finally, Bryan Mbuemo will hope to continue his scoring form from the right wing.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Flekken; Doerslev, Collins, Berg, Lewis-Potter; Jense, Norgaard, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola will reluctantly make some wholesale changes to the lineup following an 8-0 win over at the weekend. For instance, hat-trick hero James McAtee will not be starting for Manchester City, while some other goalscorers, including Jack Grealish, will return to the bench against Brentford.
Guardiola will look to keep a strong lineup on the pitch, and for now Manchester City are missing some key stars like John Stones and Ruben Dias for the game against Brentford. Oscar Bobb and Rodri are long-term absentees, although Guardiola still has other big defenders to call upon.
Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake will make up for the central defensive berths, while Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol are the likely starters in the full-back positions. Mateo Kovacic will sit as the lone midfielder in Manchester City’s midfield, while Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne make up for those positions ahead.
Savinho might start on the left wing to allow Phil Foden to foray from the right fllank. Erling Haaland will be aiming to catch Mohamed Salah in the top scorer’s charts when he leads the line for Manchester City against Brentford.
Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic; Foden, Silva, De Bruyne, Savinho; Haaland
Key Stats
- Brentford have lost just once on home soil in the Premier League this season.
- Brentford have only one win across all their away games this season in the Premier League.
- Manchester City have won their last three matches against Brentford in all competitions.
- Manchester City have won their last three games across all competitions.
Player to Watch
Erling Haaland
There have been two phases in Haaland’s season so far, one at the beginning when he was scoring freely and then during Manchester City’s dreadful run where he was anonymous for most parts. As the team have played well in their last two games in the league, it is no surprise to see the Norwegian get back on form and score goals.
Incidentally, Haaland finds himself behind in the top scorer’s charts to, Mohamed Salah, and that might be a cursor for him to step up his game. Goals might be the only way the Norwegian knows to answer his critics, and Pep Guardiola will surely hope for the Manchester City talisman to continue his scoring streak when they visit Brentford.
Prediction
Brentford 2-2 Manchester City
Manchester City are showing signs of resurgence in recent weeks, and Pep Guardiola will hope they can produce a memorable performance away at Brentford. Given the nature of this fixture and how difficult the Bees have made their home ground to be, there are doubts whether the reigning champions will collect three points.
While many would point to the FA Cup loss at home to Plymouth Argyle, Thomas Frank can argue that he did not field his best team on that day. With the Brentford boss likely to recall many of his regulars, they are equipped to give Manchester City a difficult time and probably get a point out of this daunting game at home.