Manchester City vs Brentford (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch

Manchester City look to put the disappointment of dropping points against Chelsea behind them as they welcome a struggling Brentford side to the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s reigning Premier League champions have been in good form in recent times picking up crucial wins against Everton, upcoming opponents Brentford, and Burnley as they put pressure on title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal.

Previously, the Etihad side faltered to a 1-1 draw against an inconsistent Chelsea side. Former Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling gave Mauricio Pochettino’s team the lead on the brink of half-time, before Rodri provided a late leveller to rescue a point.

Tuesday’s opponents have been having a hard time this season. The loss of star striker Ivan Toney took its toll on the team early on. However, since his return from a long-term suspension, the forward has scored four goals in five appearances.

The reverse fixture only took place this month. City ran out 3-1 winners in West London in a typical Citizens performance on the whole as they dominated the ball and the scoreline could’ve been greater was it not for an impressive performance from keeper Mark Flekken.

Yet, City found themselves 1-0 down as Neal Maupay put the Bees on 21 minutes, which could’ve provided a potential scare. Academy graduate Phil Foden, who has been in exhilarating form this season with eight goals and seven assists, scored his second career hat-trick and secured all three points for his club in a 1-3 win.

Since then, the Blues have beaten Everton, Copenhagen away in the Champions League, and picked up a point against Chelsea with respective 2-0, 1-3 and 1-1 score-lines. The situation regarding the Premier League leaves them in third, four points adrift of top, albeit with a game in hand.

Brentford have had a mixed bag of results. Thomas Frank’s side dispatched Wolves 2-0 whilst Liverpool put four past them in a 1-4 win for Jürgen Klopp’s side.

Results aside, Brentford have proven to be a tough side to play against since their promotion from the Championship in 2021. However, since City overcame the challenge of playing Brentford on their turf, despite going 1-0 down, Pep Guardiola’s side will be confident they can get the job done and continue their fight towards becoming the first team to win four Premier League titles in a row. 

Fixture Details

Manchester City will take on Brentford on Tuesday 20^th February at the Etihad Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 19:30 GMT.

Team News

Jack Grealish will play no part in this tie as he sustained a groin injury during the win in Copenhagen. Whilst fears were that he would miss around three weeks, Pep Guardiola revealed the problem is not as bad as initially thought with a return targeted for the Manchester Derby.

Josko Gvardiol also suffered an injury, this time to ligaments in his ankle, and will play no part in Tuesday night’s contest.

Brentford have a more prolonged injury list however. Full-back Aaron Hickey suffered a setback to his recovery from a hamstring problem and will be out for the foreseeable future.

Two more defenders will also not feature for Brentford; Rico Henry will likely miss the rest of the season with an ACL problem, whilst Ethan Pinnock will not play until after the international break with an ankle injury.

Josh Dasilva, who has been out for a while already, is recovering from damage to his knee ligaments. Forwards Kevin Schade and Bryan Mbeumo will not play a part. The German underwent surgery on his adductor in September and is yet to return having missed 22 matches in the Premier League. Mbeumo, who has been a crucial part of Brentford’s team since their promotion, had ankle surgery in December and will not return to action until March.

Head to Head

The two sides have locked horns only 18 times previously over the year. Overall, Manchester City have won 10 times whilst Tuesday’s away team have won seven. Since Brentford’s promotion to England’s top division, they have won twice against Pep Guardiola’s side, once at home and once away.

The Sky Blues have come out victorious in six of their eight home games in all competitions. The two times Brentford came out on top was this fixture last season and once in 1937. The Bees have the opportunity to become just the second team, after Manchester United in 2019/20 and 2020/21, to win back-to-back away league games against a Pep Guardiola squad.

Statistics

• Manchester City have only lost once in their last 37 top-tier home games (W30, D6) which came in the form of a 2-1 defeat to Brentford in November 2022 of the previous season.
• Manchester City have drawn four of their previous seven home league games.
• Manchester City have fallen behind in 11 of their 24 Premier League matches this season.
• Having played 11 away matches this season, Brentford have lost seven of these which matches their entire tally for last season.
• Brentford have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 league games.
• Ivan Toney can become the first Brentford player to score in three consecutive away fixtures.

How to Watch

For fans in the United Kingdom, Tuesday night’s match will not be aired on live television. TalkSport and BBC Radio Manchester will provide radio commentary of the fixture with kick-off scheduled for 19:30 GMT.

For fans in the United States, the match will be aired on the NBC Sports app, USA Network and Universo NOW.

For fans living elsewhere, you can find the TV listings here!

You can also follow the match on the City Xtra YouTube channel via our live Watchalong show!