Manchester City vs Brentford: Match preview, predicted line-ups, quotes, form, injuries and how to watch

When and where to watch Man City vs Brentford

Man City vs Brentford kicks off at 12.30pm on Saturday 12 November.

You can catch all the action from the Etihad from 11.30am on BT Sport 1 - available via live stream here

Man City vs Brentford match preview 

Man City will want to sign off with a win before the World Cup.

Another three points will put The Citizens top of the table at least until Arsenal play later in the day. 

Regardless of the Gunners' result, the battle at the top of the table will resume after Christmas and Pep Guardiola will want his side to be within touching distance at the very least. 

Erling Haaland is back after coming off the bench to secure a point for City at the weekend and Guardiola will hope that his international-packed side is fully concentrated on beating Brentford before minds switch to Qatar.

Brentford will feel bitterly disappointed that they didn't hold out for the win against Nottingham Forest last weekend. 

A 96th-minute own-goal meant the Bees had to settle for a draw - the club's third in their last four matches. 

Thomas Frank's side last won in mid-October and if they fail to win at the Etihad they'll have to wait until Boxing Day to put things right - a home match against Tottenham. 

Brentford welcome back striker Ivan Toney to the team, who will be looking to get over the disappointment of missing out on the England World Cup squad, with their talisman looking to be a thorn in City's side. 

Man City vs Brentford predicted lineups

Man City: (4-3-3) Ederson; Stones, Akanji, Dias, Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, Silva, Foden, Haaland, Grealish. 

Brentford: (3-5-2) Raya, Jorgensen, Mee, Pinnock, Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen, Onyeka, Henry, Mbuemo, Toney. 

Man City vs Brentford: Injuries and suspensions

Guardiola doesn't face any fresh injury worries after City's League Cup tie against Chelsea in mid-week.

Joao Cancelo returns from suspension after missing the 2-0 victory at the Etihad and is expected to be restored to the starting line-up. 

Brentford welcome back their top goalscorer, Toney, after he missed the match against Forest through suspension. 

However, the Bees are without a number of players through injury until after the World Cup.

These include defenders Kristoffer Ajer, Aaron Hickey and Pontus Jansson, as well as goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha. 

Christian Norgaard should be available after recovering from an achilles injury. The Dane contributed an assist in Brentford's defeat to Gillingham in the mid-week League Cup fixture.

Man City vs Brentford: Form guide

City are doing everything they possibly can to top the table before the World Cup break but Arsenal also keep winning. 

They play first again at the weekend and could go top until the Gunners play Wolves on Saturday evening. 

City had a scare last the weekend, conceding a goal and getting Cancelo sent off before the half-hour mark. 

Thankfully Guardiola had Haaland on the bench and when he was subbed on there was always a chance they could nick the win. And five minutes into injury time they did, via a Haaland penalty. 

That's 16 home wins in a row now for City and they'd love to make it to 17 before the World Cup break. 

As expected, Brentford's form has been up and down. They've drawn three of their last four matches and could really do with a win, which is something they haven't managed since mid-October. 

They thought they'd taken all three points away at Forest at the weekend, but a 96th-minute Mathias Jorgensen own-goal meant they left the City Ground with just one. 

The Etihad is not the ideal place to go when you need a win, but with the Bees currently sitting in mid-table they'll be fairly satisfied with their work so far this season - though they'll be disappointed they exited the League Cup in mid-week after losing on penalties to Gillingham. 

Still, a famous win at the weekend, or even another draw, would be most welcome.

Man City vs Brentford: Last time they met

Manchester City won 2-0 the last time they played Brentford at home on 9 February 2021. 

Riyad Mahrez scored from the penalty spot after Raheem Sterling had been brought down by Mads Roerslev. 

Kevin De Bruyne doubled City's lead in the second half, slotting into an empty net after a mistake from Bees' keeper David Raya.

He said what?!

Pep Guardiola on watching his side win in injury time despite playing with just 10 men against Fulham:

"The way we played [the] 65 minutes was amazing, 10 vs 11, at the right tempo, had more chances, more control, the personality.

"Everyone played in the right, certain amount of angry and disappointment for many reasons, we were there.

"It was really, really good - one of the best experiences we've ever had here."

Man City vs Brentford: Players to watch

Toney returns to the Brentford side after serving a one-match and with a point to prove to England boss Gareth Southgate.

The Bees felt his absence in their draw too, with Forest giving up lots of chances that you imagine the striker would've finished off. 

City are likely to be less generous at the back, but Toney will want to make up for lost time and get back to goalscoring ways. 

With England's first match in Qatar on 21 November, this is the last opportunity to see the nation's stars performing for their clubs. 

John Stones, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden may get one last chance to put in a performance that makes Gareth Southgate think before picking his starting 11 to face Iran. 

Man City vs Brentford: Key stats

• Brentford have won just one of their five away league games against Manchester City, winning 2-0 on Christmas Day in 1937 in the top-flight.

• Manchester City have won each of their last 11 Premier League home games, their longest such run since a run of 14 in the 2017-18 campaign. They've scored at least twice in their last 15 at the Etihad, with only Liverpool having a longer run of scoring 2+ goals in Premier League home games (16 between February and December 2019).
  

• Brentford are one of four teams yet to win away from home in the Premier League this season (D4 L3), with only Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Wolves (2 each) gaining fewer points on the road than the Bees (4).
  

• Only Nottingham Forest and Everton (both 16%) have played a higher percentage of their passes long in the Premier League this season than Brentford (15.6%). Indeed, David Raya has completed 60 passes to Ivan Toney, the most a goalkeeper has played to a non-defender in the competition so far this term.
  

• Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne has fired more shots from outside the box than any other player in the Premier League this season (24), with two of his three goals so far coming from distance. Meanwhile, only Tottenham (93) have faced more shots from outside the box than Brentford (92) so far this term.
  

• Bryan Mbeumo has played 49 Premier League games for Brentford, and could become the first player to reach 50 for the Bees. He's provided more assists than any other player for the club in the competition (8) and is looking to score in consecutive top-flight appearances for the first time.

• Ederson has won 149 of his 195 Premier League games with Manchester City – victory here would make him the first player to reach 150 wins in fewer than 200 appearances in the competition.