Pep Guardiola and his boys must avoid aerial bombardment as they play against Brentford this weekend, looking at their current status this season.
When City arrive at the GTECH Stadium on Sunday, they will face a Brentford side buoyed by their 3-1 win over Manchester United, with the supporters eager for another upset. Just three points separate City in seventh from the Bees in 13th place.
Softfootball can gather that under former manager Thomas Frank, Brentford regularly pushed City close. In their last meeting at the GTECH in January, late goals from Yoane Wissa and Christian Nørgaard salvaged a draw.
This season, the Bees have already taken points off Aston Villa and Chelsea, showing they have the grit to compete with top opposition, with the recent match against Manchester United going easily and reflecting the Bees’ fast transition and counter. Watch Igor Thiago’s goal against Manchester United as revealed on Brentford’s official X handle below:
But Guardiola has shown no worries ahead of City’s clash against Brentford this Sunday, stating that his players are good to go. As revealed on the city’s official X handle, Guardiola said:
We will train this afternoon, but it looks good. Everybody finished [against Monaco] without any problems. Yeah, fine. All good.
The clash comes on the back of City’s frustrating 2-2 draw away to Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday, where they conceded in the 89th minute. It continues a worrying trend for Pep Guardiola’s side, who also let in a late equaliser against Arsenal, leaving defensive frailties as a major obstacle in their push up the table.
Team news
Phil Foden has been their talisman whenever they visit Brentford. The 2023/24 Premier League Player of the Season has scored six goals across his last three appearances at the GTECH. Even so, City will need to be prepared for a physical bombardment of long throws, corners, and free kicks. Watch below: one of Foden’s goals this season against Brighton in August, as revealed on City’s official X handle:
Meanwhile, Brentford boss Keith Andrews is targeting a continuation of their strong home form. He will be boosted by the return to training of Fabio Carvalho, who scored the late equaliser against Chelsea off the bench, while Reiss Nelson and Gustavo Nunes are also in contention to feature against City.
Possible line-up
Brentford: Caoimhín Kelleher, Michael Kayode, Nathan Collins, Sepp Berg, Aaron Hickey, Jordan Henderson, Yehor Yarmolyuk, Dango Ouattara, Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade, Igor Thiago
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, Nico O’Reilly, Rodri, Silva, Reijnders, Foden, Doku, Haaland.
Softfootball Prediction: Brentford 1-3 Man. City
