Premier League | Gameweek 21

Jan 14, 2025 at 7.30pm UK

Lner Community Stadium

Brentford vs Man City

Match preview

Manchester United's famous Class of 92 may have had great success over Man City when they were playing, but Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt couldn't stop their Salford City team from getting beaten 4-0 at the Etihad in the FA Cup.

A hat-trick from James McAtee, a double from Jeremy Doku, a penalty from Jack Grealish, a debut goal from Divin Mubama and a strike from Nico O'Reilly all contributed to a Mancunian mauling on Saturday evening, as Guardiola's youngsters proved that the kids are more than all right.

The emphatic third-round win marked the first time since 1933 that Man City had scored an incredible eight goals in one FA Cup match, as the reigning Premier League champions hit a new high in their winter revival following top-flight beatings of West Ham United and Leicester City.

A 4-1 thrashing of the Hammers on 4 January brought the sixth-placed Citizens to within two points of the Champions League places, and while a fifth title in a row may be out of the question, a top-four finish should not be if Guardiola's men can carry on with their usual second-half-of-season surge.

Even when they've had a bit of a wobble, City have usually still found the net in the Premier League, and they've scored in each of their last seven Premier League matches, which is a good sign for anyone hoping to see another Brentford blockbuster.

When Thomas Frank's team play at home, you can bet they'll score. But they've not been as strong in their away games recently. Plymouth, who are struggling in the Championship, were the latest team to be beaten by the West London outfit.

Argyle produced Saturday's biggest FA Cup upset, keeping the Bees at bay and booking their place in the fourth round with a Morgan Whittaker strike in the last 10 minutes, sending the Green Army home happy and the Brentford faithful home sad.

That third-round defeat was a rude awakening for Brentford after their 5-0 thrashing by Southampton in the Premier League. It was their first away goal in the league after 10 attempts and it helped them secure a mid-table position.

But the Bees can't keep saying they're the best home team in the English top flight – that title's now with Liverpool – and Frank's men could lose three Premier League games in a row at the Gtech Community Stadium for the second time.

And speaking of things coming in threes, Man City have won each of their last three top-flight games against Tuesday's hosts since losing 1-0 in West London during the final gameweek of the 2022-23 season, beating Frank's side 2-1 at the Etihad in September thanks to Erling Haaland's two goals, which cancelled out a first-minute Yoane Wissa opener.

Recent Performance

Brentford Premier League form:WLLDLW

Brentford form (all competitions):LLDLWL

Manchester City Premier League form:DLLDWW

Manchester City form (all competitions):LLDWWW

Team News

None of City's four injured players (Rodri [ACL], Ruben Dias [calf], Oscar Bobb [leg] or John Stones [foot]) will be back for the trip to Brentford, which is just a couple of days after Kyle Walker dropped a bombshell about the team's future.

Guardiola confirmed after Saturday's win over Salford that the right-back had asked for a transfer abroad, so he's seemingly played his final game for the Premier League champions and won't be involved when the champions take on the Bees.

Instead, Rico Lewis will fill in at right-back for Tuesday's visitors, who will also bring back a bunch of their big hitters to the first XI, probably at the expense of FA Cup stars McAtee, Doku and Grealish.

Brentford's recent dip in form has come at the same time as a growing list of injuries, with the Bees still missing Josh Dasilva (knee), Ethan Pinnock (thigh), Kristoffer Ajer (ankle), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Igor Thiago (knee), Gustavo Nunes (back) or Ryan Trevitt (Achilles). But the good news is that Ben Mee is back.

There was one small victory for Brentford to take from their loss to Plymouth, where left-back Rico Henry made his first appearance in a staggering 16 months, lasting just over an hour on his comeback game from a severe knee injury.

Keane Lewis-Potter, who's just signed a new contract, should be able to help out Henry this week, and Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo will be back as well. The two of them have scored 17 of Brentford's 27 Premier League home goals this season.

Possible starting lineup

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Roerslev, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic; Foden, Silva, De Bruyne, Savinho; Haaland