Brentford and Manchester City had very differing results in the FA Cup at the weekend, but this will be a far greater test for the champions than Salford City.
By Ian King
Recent records
Have Manchester City turned a corner? It might be arguable that you can’t read too much into their 8-0 win against Salford in the FA Cup, but this was another positive result, following on from successive Premier League wins against Leicester City and West Ham United.
Brentford, meanwhile, had ended a run of one win in six by beating Southampton 5-0 away from home last time out in the league, but their 1-0 home Cup defeat to Plymouth may have indicated that they might not be out of this slump just yet.
History
City have won every game between the two clubs going back to September 1989, except for the 2022/23 season, when the Bees did the double over them, beating them 2-1 at The Etihad and 1-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium. When the two clubs met earlier this season City won 2-1, though they had to come back from a goal behind after Yoane Wissa had given Brentford a first-minute lead.
Key players
It’s entirely possible that he may not start, but there may be eyes being directed towards Kyle Walker following news that he could be open to leaving City to play abroad. The same goes for Jack Grealish, who converted a penalty against Salford but still needs to start delivering again. Might Pep Guardiola be tempted to give James McAtee a run out? After all, he scored a hat-trick in less than twenty minutes last weekend.
There are two key figures in the Brentford squad. Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo have scored 17 of Brentford’s 27 Premier League home goals between them this season, and if Brentford can exploit what is still a slightly improvised Manchester City defence there could yet be rewards to be had.
Team News
Rico Lewis will stand in for City should Walker have played his last game for the club, though this remains unconfirmed for now. None of City’s recent absentees are expected to return. Brentford’s injury list, meanwhile, is starting to look worrying, with Josh Dasilva (knee), Ethan Pinnock (thigh), Kristoffer Ajer (ankle), Ben Mee (unspecified), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Igor Thiago (knee), Gustavo Nunes (back) and Ryan Trevitt (achilles) all likely to be missing.
Prediction
Brentford’s recent dip in form was masked by an easy win at Southampton, as their performance against Plymouth seemed to confirm, and while they’re comfortable in mid-table, they’ve been inconsistent all season.
For Manchester City, this will feel like a winnable test of recent progress made. Both Leicester and West Ham were poor against them, and the Salford result can’t really be held as a comparison for what they might need to do in the Premier League. But City normally come good in the second half of the season and that’s where we are right now, so I’m going for them to edge this 2-1.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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