Manchester City travels down south on Monday, where they will look to defeat Brentford on the road. This is the first meeting between the two sides this season, but the last two games have gone in favour of the Bees.
Brentford
Brentford’s season has been far from ideal, and they have now only won one of their last nine matches in all competitions. Bryan Mbuemo has been a huge miss after picking up an injury, but the return of Ivan Toney has proved to be a game-changer.
The Bees have netted at least twice in their last two matches, with the number 17 scoring on both occasions. This week, Brentford were handed a 3-2 defeat to Spurs, with an eight-minute spell after the break overturning Thomas Frank’s side’s one-goal lead.
Nevertheless, Brentford are still 16th in the league and very much in the middle of a relegation battle. The Bees still score goals, with an average per game of 1.48, but they do concede the sixth most in the league, 1.71 per game, which is their downfall.
Man City
The Citizens are on a roll once again, with Pep Guardiola’s side winning all of their last eight matches. Kevin De Bruyne is back, and Erling Haaland got some minutes during their 3-1 home win over Burnley, where they had practically won the game before the whistle had even blown.
City are currently five points behind first-placed Liverpool with a game in hand, but all three of their defeats have been on the road, which will give Brentford a glimmer of hope.
To no surprise, City have conceded just 1.14 goals per game this season, which is the third-best defensive average in the league. They’ve also only failed to score on three occasions, while having the highest goals scored tally in the league, 2.43 per game.
Verdict?
This should be another routine win for City, despite the recent historic Brentford advantage.
The quality in their side is far superior, and Brentford will be looking to Toney for inspiration in attack, but he can’t do it all on his own.
The final prediction is Brentford 0-3 Man City.
