Manchester City will host Brentford at the Etihad on Wednesday, looking to book their place in the EFL Cup semi-finals.
Manchester City are in impressive form right now, with five wins from their last five matches in all competitions ahead of the EFL Cup quarter-final vs Brentford. They will be favourites to grind out a positive result here.
Pep Guardiola’s men are unbeaten in five of their last six meetings against Brentford as well. Meanwhile, the visitors have failed to win any of their last three matches in all competitions, and they will look to bounce back strongly. It will be interesting to see if they can trouble the home team and grind out a positive result here.
There is no doubt that Keith Andrews has quality players at his disposal, and the Bees what it takes to pull off an upset here. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top eventually. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester City
Rodri misses out with a hamstring injury, and Mateo Kovacic has an ankle problem. Meanwhile, Omar Marmoush is away due to AFCON. Manchester City will shape up in their usual 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 keep things tight at the back and help out in the attack. Ruben Dias will start alongside Josko Gvardiol at the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, Nico Gonzalez will start in the middle of the park, and he will look to control the tempo of the game from the deep. Tijjani Reijnders and Phil Foden will start as advanced midfielders, and they will add creativity to the side.
Savinho and Jeremy Doku will add pace, flair and goals from the flanks, with Erling Haaland spearheading the Manchester City attack vs Brentford at the Etihad on Wednesday night.
Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Doku, Reijnders, Foden, Savinho; Haaland
Brentford
Frank Onyeka and Dango Ouattara are away due to AFCON, while Fabio Carvalho’s season is over due to a knee injury. Brentford will line up 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 hit Manchester City on the break. Nathan Collins will form the central defensive partnership alongside Sepp van den Berg.
As for the midfield unit, Jordan Henderson and Yehor Yarmolyuk will look to protect the back four and win the ball back for their side in the middle of the park. Mikkel Damsgaard will start as the central attacking midfielder, and he will help open up opportunities in the final third.
Kevin Schade and Keane Lewis-Potter 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 Wednesday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, van den Berg, Henry; Yarmolyuk, Henderson; Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago
Key Stats
- Manchester City are undefeated in their last five matches against Brentford in all competitions.
- Manchester City have picked up five wins in a row in all competitions.
- Brentford have picked up one win from their last five matches in all competitions.
- 14 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two teams.
Player to Watch
Erling Haaland
The Norwegian striker is scoring goals consistently, and he is our key player to watch out for. In the EFL Cup quarter-final on Wednesday, he will look to punish the Brentford defence, which has been quite poor in recent weeks.
The Bees have conceded nine goals in their last six matches in all competitions. They will struggle to keep the Manchester City striker quiet, and he is likely to find the back of the net. He will look to help create opportunities for his teammates as well.
Prediction
Manchester City 3-1 Brentford
The home team should be able to pick up a win and progress through to the next round of the competition. Manchester City are in impressive form right now, and they are full of confidence and momentum. On the other hand, the away side has picked up just one win from their last five matches in all competitions.
This will be an uphill challenge for the Bees, and they are likely to struggle here. Brentford have not picked up a single victory over Manchester City in their last five meetings. They are likely to crash to yet another defeat here. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for Pep Guardiola and his charges.