Brentford will host Manchester City at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday, with both sides eager to build on recent Premier League wins.
Brentford have the quality to trouble the best of teams, and it will be interesting to see if they can grind out a positive result vs Manchester City when the two sides face off at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, Manchester City are coming into this game on the back of four wins and two draws from their last six matches in all competitions. Pep Guardiola will be frustrated after his charges were held to a 2-2 draw by AS Monaco earlier this week in the UEFA Champions League. However, City will aim to close the gap to the Premier League leaders and pick up a victory here.
The Citizens have dropped quite a few points in the Premier League in recent outings. They have picked up just three wins from six top-flight matches. A club of their stature should be doing a lot better. Manchester City are the better team on paper, and they will be desperate to grind out all three points.
The last time these two sides met, they played out a 2-2 draw. It remains to be seen who comes out on top this time around. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest Premier League meeting between Brentford and Manchester City.
Team News & Tactics
Brentford
Paris Maghoma and Gustavo Gomes will miss out with thigh injuries. Meanwhile, Keith Andrews is sweating over the fitness of Reiss Nelson (illness) and Fabio Carvalho (knee), with the duo facing late fitness tests to determine their availability.
Brentford will start in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Manchester City, with Caoimhin Kelleher in goal. Michael Kayode and Rico Henry will start as the full-backs. They will look to keep things tight, defensively and help out in the final third as well. Nathan Collins will form the central defensive partnership alongside Sepp van den Berg.
As for the midfield unit, Mathias Jensen and Yehor Yarmolyuk will pair up in the double pivot. They will look to protect the back four and win the ball back for their side from the deep. Mikkel Damsgaard will start as the central attacking midfielder, and he will link up with the attacking players and help open up opportunities in the final third.
Keane Lewis-Potter and Fabio Carvalho, if fit, will start on the flanks. They will look to open up the opposition defence with their pace, flair, and movement. Finally, Igor Thiago will lead the line for Brentford vs Manchester City on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, van den Berg, Henry; Yarmolyuk, Jensen; Carvalho, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Thiago
Manchester City
Abdukodir Khusanov (ankle), Omar Marmoush (knee), Rayan Cherki (hamstring), and Rayan Ait-Nouri (muscular) are sidelined with their respective injuries. Manchester City will shape up in a 4-1-4-1 formation vs Brentford, with Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.
Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly will start as the full-backs. They will look to help the team at both ends of the pitch. Meanwhile, Ruben Dias will pair up at the heart of the defence alongside Josko Gvardiol.
As for the midfield unit, Nico Gonzalez will look to control the tempo of the game from the middle of the park. Tijjani Reijnders and Phil Foden will start as the advanced central midfielders, and they will look to add creativity to the side.
Savinho and Jeremy Doku will start on the flanks. They will look to add pace, flair, and unpredictability to the Manchester City attack. Finally, Erling Haaland will spearhead the Manchester City attack vs Brentford on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Donnarumma; Nunez, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Savinho, Reijnders, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Key Stats
- Manchester City have picked up three wins from the last six matches against Brentford.
- 16 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two teams.
- Manchester City are unbeaten in the last six matches in all competitions.
- Four of the last six matches between these two teams have seen both sides get on the score sheet.
- Brentford are unbeaten in three of the last six matches against Manchester City.
Player to Watch
Erling Haaland
The Norwegian striker has been outstanding for Manchester City this season, and he will look to find the back of the net once again. He is our key player to watch out for. Brentford will look to make life difficult for Manchester City, who will need their star striker to step up and produce a strong performance here.
Manchester City need to win these games if they want to win the Premier League title this season. Haaland will be crucial to their hopes of getting all three points here. He has the quality to trouble the home defence and find the back of the net.
Prediction
Brentford 1-2 Manchester City
Both teams will look to pick up a win here, and this will be an open game with a fair few chances. Neither side are defensive in their approach. They are likely to get on the score sheet here, but Manchester City have more quality and depth in the attacking unit.
The visitors should be able to grind out a narrow victory here. This will be a difficult game for Manchester City, and they will need to raise their performance levels. However, they have the resources to get the job done here. Brentford are likely to crash to a defeat. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 victory for Pep Guardiola and his charges.
