England Premier League
Tuesday 20th February 2024
Kick off at 7:30pm GMT
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Match Preview:
This match is Manchester City’s vital game in hand over their title rivals and simply put it is a must win game. City could only draw 1-1 against Chelsea at home at the weekend and that was a huge two points dropped for the champions in a weekend which witnessed big wins for their title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal. However it was not the end of the world because of this extra game to play. Had City played the same matches then being 4 points adrift of Liverpool at this stage would have seemed significant, but they would move ahead of Arsenal and be just a point behind Jurgen Klopp’s side with victory here.
Over the last 10 games City would rank in 2nd place only because of goal difference over Liverpool but both clubs have picked up 23 points in that time. Home form for the club has seen 3 wins but two draws in the last five games alone and overall the champions have managed 28 points from 36. That is a superb return but league leaders Liverpool have won four points more. Third placed City hold a four point advantage over Aston Villa and only a win would take them past Arsenal.
Brentford were soundly smashed at home 4-1 against Liverpool at the weekend to make it three defeats from their last four games. The Bees will be weary to be just 5 points from the drop and form has largely hit a wall. Although they can be capable of pulling off unlikely wins, like a few weeks ago when they beat the then in-form Wolves 2-0 away from home. The Bees have won just three games on the road so far but they did put an end to a 4 game losing streak in their last away game with that win over Wolves. Thomas Frank’s side have been relying a lot on Ivan Toney’s goals and he has already been able to make an impact in front of goal since returning from his suspension a month ago. If they were to win here the club would move past Bournemouth on goal difference and into 13th place.
Team News:
Manchester City: Jack Grealish will miss out with a muscle injury, Josko Gvardiol is expected to be out for at least two weeks as he recovers from an ankle injury.
Brentford: Bryan Mbeumo is out with an ankle injury and is not due back for between 2-3 weeks. Ethan Pinnock also has an ankle injury but could be missing for the next five weeks. Aaron Hickey, Rico Henry, Kevin Schade and Joshau Dasilva are all out long term.
Man City vs Brentford Head to Head:
Last season in this fixture Brentford won 2-1.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture Manchester City won 3-1.
The clubs have only played each other five times in recent times and Brentford against all odds have managed to win twice.
Based on only recent results there is a 60% chance to see under 2.5 goals.
Man City vs Brentford Prediction:
If we look at recent games and patterns this game might be tough for Manchester City despite the gulf in class and we could see few goals. However we think this game is set up for the opposite of that. City need to be on their A game, have their Champions League mindset because this is the business end of the season now. If City were to lose here then the title has swung largely in Liverpool’s favour and even a draw would be seen as poor, City need to step up. In the last two months we have seen the champions look very slick and on their game but they also have a tendency to have average first halfs, just like they did last season and they need to be at full strength for the whole game.
Erling Haaland hasn't scored enough goals since his return, and the focal point may be on him to start delivering again. We think he can and we believe that City has the potential to score quite a few goals in this game. Liverpool and Arsenal both made statement wins in the terms of goals they scored at the weekend now it is over to City, so let’s see their response.
Man City vs Brentford Betting Tips:
Handicap: Manchester City to beat Brentford with a -1 goal start at 1.50
To score 2+ goals: Erling Haaland at 3.25
Anytime goalscorer: Phil Foden at 2.50
Exact goals in the game- 4, 5 or 6 at 4.33, 6.00 and 9.00
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