Brentford's difficult run of games continues on Tuesday as the Bees meet Manchester City for a second time in little over a fortnight at Etihad Stadium (7.30pm kick-off).
After doing the double over City last season, Thomas Frank’s side couldn't complete a treble at the Gtech earlier this month with Phil Foden's hat-trick helping the champions to victory.
Brentford lost 4-1 to Liverpool last time out, while City drew 1-1 with Chelsea to extend their unbeaten run to 15 matches in all competitions.
Pre-match Analysis
Richard Cole, Playmaker Stats: Efficiency is key as Brentford look to cause another upset at the Etihad
Brentford enjoyed a much-deserved 2-1 victory at Etihad Stadium last season. Ivan Toney – who scored his fourth goal in five games during the defeat against Liverpool at the weekend – bagged a brace that day.
Last time out, City were held at home to Chelsea and there were some similarities in the numbers between Chelsea's weekend draw at the Etihad and Brentford's win there last season.
Naturally, both teams held little of the ball against City (Chelsea 30 per cent and Brentford 25 per cent in the two respective fixtures) but struck at crucial times and far more efficiently than their opponents.
City had 31 efforts at the weekend compared to the 29 they had at home against Brentford at home last season. But City were reduced to just five efforts on target in both of those games – with Erling Haaland having a particularly uncharacteristically frustrating time of it on Saturday, not converting any of his nine shots (of which just two were on target).
To get anything from a Pep Guardiola side, you also have to be ruthless going forward.
Raheem Sterling scored Chelsea's goal at the weekend from one of his side's six efforts on target. Brentford were more efficient in their game at the Etihad though, scoring twice out of seven attempts.
That is of course what you get from having a striker like Ivan Toney. We already mentioned this was his fourth in fifth games since his return, a figure that puts him on average at 0.8 goals per game.
There's only one man in the Premier League who can match 0.8 goals per game this season: Erling Haaland. Brentford will be hoping the Norwegian is as visibly frustrated on Tuesday as he was at the weekend, pushing a Sky Sports' camera out of his face after the final whistle.
But there's another star player in particular Brentford need to worry about, the man who equalised for his side at the weekend: Rodri.
Guardiola eulogised the Spaniard after the match, saying he was currently “the best midfield player in the world by far.”
Rodri not only has the handy knack of scoring vital goals for his team, but he is a fantastic all-round player who is instrumental to how Man City play.
No other player in the league has touched the ball more often than the 27-year-old (2,444 touches so far this season).
Rodri also tops the Premier League charts for progressive passes (214) and passes into the final third (231). His passes aren't always metronomic either: Rodri is seventh in the league for shot-creating actions (98 in total) and eighth for goal-creating actions (13). It will be Brentford's task to try and shut him down whenever possible.
Of course, it's far easier said than done to say that Brentford 'just' need to deal with the likes of Rodri, Haaland, Foden and Kevin De Bruyne. But as we saw at the weekend and last season, it is certainly possible and Brentford have the ability to take their chances when they come.
Scout Report
Man City hitting their stride at the right time
It was another season, another title for Manchester City last year.
When they dropped points in three of their first 10 Premier League matches, they opened the door for Arsenal, who happily climbed to the summit and led the way until April, despite losing 3-1 to City in mid-February.
By this point, though, Pep Guardiola’s men were motoring. From 25 February to 21 May, they won 12 league matches in succession and, with the Gunners succumbing to the inevitable increasing pressure, they won a fifth title in six years with two games still to play, meaning they could afford to draw to Brighton and lose to Brentford with no repercussions whatsoever.
In the summer, the club were not hugely busy, but they spent more than £200 million on four near-like-for-like signings. Mateo Kovačić came in from Chelsea to replace İlkay Gündoğan after his free transfer to Barcelona, while Jérémy Doku and Joško Gvardiol replaced Saudi Pro League bound Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte, respectively. Matheus Nunes joined from Wolves, too, in place of Cole Palmer, who left for Chelsea, where he has blossomed.
The season started with defeat, as Arsenal exacted their revenge for City pipping them to the title by way of a penalty shootout win, after an initial 1-1 draw in the Community Shield. “We faced an extraordinary team,” conceded Guardiola. They did make up for it with European Super Cup victory over Sevilla 10 days later, however.
For the most part, City have been extraordinary this term, too - again, though, they do not lead the way in the second half of the season.
Six straight wins to start the campaign took them top, but defeats to Wolves and Arsenal saw them drop to third by mid-October - then wins over Brighton, Manchester United and Bournemouth lifted them back to the summit. By this point, their Carabao Cup hopes had been ended by Newcastle for another year.
Between mid-November and mid-December, they drew four games - including a thrilling 4-4 at Chelsea and an equally gripping 3-3 with Tottenham at the Etihad - and won just one of six games. Even then they were given a scare by Luton Town, which meant they dropped as low as fourth; quite something for a team of their calibre.
Travelling to the Club World Cup in December brought a welcome break from the Premier League, particularly as the previously infallible Erling Haaland showed he is, in fact, human by sustaining a foot injury that kept him out of nine games in all competitions. But his absence was not felt at the tournament in Saudi Arabia, as City breezed to the trophy via wins over Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense.
“To win this trophy is to be the best team in the world,” said Guardiola after his side beat the latter in the final.
“To win the treble was truly special, but to win two more trophies and now hold these five major titles shows the unique mentality of this team. It is something no other English team has ever achieved, and we will always remember this incredible time we spent together.”
Since returning to the UK, they have won five games in the Premier League to climb to within two points of current leaders Liverpool with a game in hand and twice in the FA Cup, which has seen them book a fifth-round date with Luton. [UPDATE]
City are starting to move through the gears again so, with Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League glory still very much on the cards, it’s far too early to write off the chances of Guardiola’s squad achieving an unprecedented quintuple over the next five months.
In the Dugout
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola was born an hour’s drive from Barcelona and joined the club’s La Masia academy in 1984, aged 13.
He rose through the ranks and became a key part of Johan Cruyff’s team in the 1990s, before later playing under Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal at the Nou Camp.
During 10 full seasons in the first team, the midfielder won 15 trophies, including six La Liga titles and the European Cup in 1991/92.
He departed after 17 years in 2001 and played out the rest of his playing days with Roma and Brescia in Italy, Al-Ahli in Qatar, and then in Mexico with Dorados, before calling it quits in 2006.
Before long, he was back in Spain as Barcelona B manager. Promotion in the first season, 2007/08, saw him selected to step up as Frank Rijkaard’s successor and, over the next four seasons, he established himself as one of the great minds of football. His tiki-taka style of play heralded an astonishing 14 trophies, six of which they won during a mind-blowing 2009.
The serial winner took a year’s sabbatical before joining Bayern Munich in June 2013. In Germany, he delivered three straight Bundesliga titles, two German Cups, one European Super Cup and one Club World Cup - the third of a career that had spanned all of six years to that point.
By the end of his time in Bavaria, Guardiola already knew his next move, having signed a three-year contract in February 2016 to replace Manuel Pellegrini that summer.
In the eight years since, he has become Manchester City’s most successful manager, leading them to 16 trophies over the years that they have become a footballing powerhouse; one of Europe’s undoubted elites.
The Spaniard is under contract at the Etihad until the summer of 2025 and, once Jürgen Klopp leaves Liverpool in the summer, he is set to become the longest-serving current Premier League manager and the third longest-serving boss in the country.
The Gameplan
With Manchester Evening News’ Simon Bajkowski
Simon Bajkowski, chief Manchester City writer for Manchester Evening News, explains how Pep Guardiola is likely to set up his side on Tuesday night:
"I think it will be similar [to the reverse fixture at Gtech Community Stadium], yes. It will be interesting to see if John Stones comes back in because he impressed in the Champions League and showed the first real signs this season that, with all of his injuries, he might be coming back to play an important role in the team."
Read the full interview with Simon Bajkowski here
Team News
Frank: Pinnock is very difficult to replace
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank gave an update on his squad at his pre-match press conference on Monday afternoon.
The Bees boss revealed that defender Ethan Pinnock will be out until after the international break at the end of March due to an ankle injury picked up against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and commented on the absence of the centre-back.
"No fresh injuries, touch wood, from the strong squad we had against Liverpool," he said.
"Aaron Hickey and Kevin Schade are still a bit further down the line."
Frank added: "Ethan Pinnock is very difficult to replace. He is a top defender and so important for us in many aspects.
"But Kristoffer Ajer did very well against Liverpool; I am pleased with what I am seeing."
Match Officials
England handed 17th Brentford assignment
Referee: Darren England
Assistants: Ian Hussin and Daniel Robathan
Fourth official: Tony Harrington
Video assistant referee: Michael Salisbury
Additional video assistant referee: Simon Long
Tuesday’s game will be Darren England’s 17th in charge of Brentford - the most of any team in the English pyramid.
The south Yorkshire official’s most recent Bees assignment was the 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest last month.
England has refereed 20 games this season, showing 107 yellow cards and three reds.
Last Meeting
Brentford 1 Manchester City 3 (Premier League, 5 February 2024)
Phil Foden's hat-trick consigned Brentford to a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on 5 February.
Neal Maupay's cool one-on-one finish, which was the striker's fifth goal in as many games, gave the Bees the lead on 21 minutes.
But a Foden goal before half-time and two more after the break secured the victory for Pep Guardiola's side at Gtech Community Stadium.