Brentford host Premier League title-chasing Manchester City at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Victory could see Brentford move up to 14th in the table, whilst Man City can return to second with a win and move to within two points of league leaders, Liverpool.
Team News
Brentford have no fresh injury concerns to report after their defeat at Tottenham in midweek, with Sergio Reguilon set to return after he was ineligible to play against his parent club.
Aaron Hickey (hamstring) and Kevin Schade (adductor) could both return but Rico Henry (knee), Bryan Mbeumo (ankle), Saman Ghoddos, Frank Onyeka and Yoane Wissa (all international duty) remain absent.
Man City have no fresh injury concerns after their win against Burnley, with Manuel Akjani set to return from a knee injury.
When is Kick-Off?
Brentford face Man City at Gtech Community Stadium on Monday 5 February at 8pm GMT, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Brentford are unbeaten in two of their last four meetings against Man City (W2, L2).
- Man City have won one of their two Premier League visits to Brentford (W1, L1), with both games settled by 1-0 result.
- Thomas Frank’s Bees were the only team to do the league double over Man City last season (W2).
- Brentford’s Ivan Toney is looking to score in three consecutive league games for the first time since November – December 2022.
- Bernardo Silva has scored in each of Man City’s last three league games on the road (W3).
Prediction
With happy memories of last season’s double, Brentford certainly can come into this game full of belief after they almost snatched a draw at Tottenham – if not for a sloppy eight minutes of early second-half defending which proved costly.
Their defence however must be even more solid and resilient and their attack more clinical because they’re facing an even more dangerous team than they did against Spurs, but last season’s victories shows that they should have little fear against the reigning champions.
Man City meanwhile basically enjoyed a footballing cruise in their win over Burnley and I expect them to try and dominate this game, but they will be wary of their hosts who managed to achieve that double both with and without Toney.
This game therefore feels like it could be a cracker because Brentford’s defence hasn’t been the strongest this season, yet their attacking threat is still dangerous and can’t be underestimated by a superior Man City team.
Although it is easy to call this an easy Man City win on paper, I don’t feel like it will be that simple because Brentford will cause issues so I expect a tough scrap with the visitors just winning out.
Prediction: Brentford 1-2 Manchester City
Result: Brentford 1-3 Manchester City
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