Manchester City vs Brentford preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

• Over 2.5 goals

• Both teams to score

• Manchester City to win

Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes are hanging in the balance as they face Brentford this weekend.

The pendulum swung Arsenal’s way after Man City dropped two crucial points in a breathtaking 3-3 draw with Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night, ending a six-game winning run in all competitions.

Pep Guardiola’s side have dropped the joint-most PL points from winning positions since the turn of the year (12), level with Tottenham and Newcastle.

Man City know victory over the Bees will close the gap on Arsenal to two points, but they are no longer in control of the title race. They are now in a position where they need a slip from the Gunners to have any chance of reclaiming the title.

Should City fail to beat Brentford, then Arsenal will be crowned Premier League champions with wins over West Ham and Burnley.

Brentford, meanwhile, ended a six-game winless run – their longest in the Premier League this season (D5 L1) – when they beat West Ham 3-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium last weekend.

Keith Andrews’ side are firmly in the hunt for Europe and can take a major step towards consolidating a top-seven finish with a positive result in Manchester.

Manchester City have already beaten Brentford twice without reply this season, winning 1-0 in the top flight six months ago before securing a 2-0 EFL Cup fifth-round victory in December.

The Bees have also been beaten in three of their previous four league visits to Man City, but supporters will reminisce about the 2-1 triumph at the Etihad in November 2022 when Ivan Toney delivered a match-winning two-goal performance.

While Man City hold a strong record against Brentford with eight wins from 11 matches in all competitions, these encounters are typically tight affairs. 

Every victory for the Citizens since 1997 has been by a one or two-goal margin.

Manchester City Premier League form: 🟧🟧🟩🟩🟩🟧

Manchester City form (all competitions): 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟧

Brentford Premier League form: 🟧🟧🟧🟧🟥🟩

Man City defensive duo Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture) and Ruben Dias (ankle) are set to remain sidelined.

It also remains to be seen whether Rodri will be ready to return after missing the last three matches with a groin issue.

Guardiola is not expected to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup, but one potential alteration could see Rayan Ait-Nouri return at left-back and Nico O’Reilly move into midfield at the expense of Nico Gonzalez. 

Mateo Kovacic may also be ready to start after recovering from injury.

Erling Haaland has scored four goals in his previous six games against Brentford.

As for Brentford, Antoni Milambo and Fabio Carvalho (both knee) remain unavailable for selection, while Jordon Henderson (unspecified) and Rico Henry (thigh) will have injuries assessed ahead of kickoff.

Igor Thiago netted his 22nd PL goal of the season last weekend and is just three goals behind Haaland in the Golden Boot race. The Brazilian striker will be looking to end a three-game goal drought away from home this weekend.

Mathias Jensen, Yehor Yarmolyuk and Mikkel Damsgaard are all set to continue in midfield, despite the return to fitness of Vitaly Janelt and Josh Dasilva.

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Bernardo; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland

Brentford: Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Hickey; Jensen, Yarmolyuk; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Thiago

It was a rather surprising second-half collapse from Man City against Everton, going from 1-0 up to 3-1 down in the space of 13 minutes.

However, Guardiola’s men have no choice but to dust themselves down and produce a clinical, mistake-free performance that can get them over the line against a top-six-chasing Brentford side arriving at the Etihad with renewed confidence.

We expect Brentford to provide a stern test for City, but one that Guardiola’s side will overcome to cut the gap on Arsenal to two points before their game at West Ham.

Correct score prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Brentford