Brentford eye successive victories over Manchester-based sides as City visits.
After last weekend’s comfortable victory over the Red Devils, the Bees face the Sky Blues, hoping to pick up successive victories against two Manchester-based sides. Brentford vs. Manchester City kicks off at 16:30 [GMT+1] on Sunday, October 5, at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford and Manchester City meet in West London in a fixture that promises to be both tactical and high intensity. They head into this contest full of confidence after their 3-1 triumph over Manchester United. It was a statement performance, highlighting Brentford’s attacking resilience and set-piece threat. The Bees, who now have 7 points, are in 13th place after putting an end to a three-game winless run [WLDLW]. Meanwhile, since completing a Premier League double over Pep Guardiola’s side in 2022-23, the Bees are winless in their last four league encounters against the Sky Blues (D1 L3). Notably, the only side in Premier League history to beat both Manchester clubs in back-to-back fixtures was Tottenham Hotspur in January 1996. The Bees now have a chance to etch their own name into the records. Fortunately, at the Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford have found renewed consistency. They’ve won four of their last six home games (D1 L1), scoring at least twice in five of them. It’s a sharp contrast to their earlier eight-game winless run at home in which they failed to score in five matches. A 3—4—2—1 formation with Igor Thiago in attack is expected against City.
City head back for domestic duties following their midweek 2-2 draw with Monaco in the UEFA Champions League despite a brace from a candid-speaking Erling Haaland. They sit in 7th place despite last weekend’s 5-1 victory over newly-promoted Burnley as they prepare for Sunday’s trip to London. City have only lost once in four league visits to Brentford (W2 D1), that defeat coming on the final day of the 2022-23 campaign. Hence, they arrive with their usual aura but with a hint of vulnerability. The Sky Blues are the only team in the division to have spent more than half their total game time in a winning position this season (55.3%). Yet, despite holding leads for over two hours across their last two away matches, they failed to secure victory in either (D1 L1). Defensive lapses and missed chances have cost them points, raising questions about their credentials as a title-winning side. Nevertheless, Pep will be counting on the likes of Phil Foden, who has six goals in three games at the Gtech, when he deploys the 4—1—4—1 formation with Erling Haaland in attack.