Manchester City vs Brentford

Manchester City’s Premier League title defense continues at the Etihad Stadium as they encounter early surprise package Brentford.

Complacency hasn’t troubled Manchester City after they lifted an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title last season as they’ve enjoyed a stellar start to their trophy-defending campaign. A comfortable 3-1 triumph at West Ham on the eve of the international break upheld Man City’s 100% league start (W3), extending their winning streak in England’s elite football league to 12 matches. Worryingly for Brentford, all those 12 victories saw Pep Guardiola’s high-flying team beat their opposition via multi-goal margins. Another success is on the cards as the Citizens pulled off a league double over the Bees in 2023/24, though they eked out a narrow 1-0 win in this corresponding fixture in February. That win forms part of Man City’s awe-inspiring 31-game unbeaten league run on home soil (W25, D6).

On the other hand, Ivan Toney’s big-money switch to Saudi Arabia has taken the wind out of Brentford’s sails as they’ve opened the new Premier League campaign with two wins from three matches (L1). However, both those victories came on home turf, while their only loss saw them slump to a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool in round two. Growing defensive woes have often let the Bees down on their travels, with Thomas Frank’s team registering just one clean sheet in their last 15 away league outings (W3, D1, L11). That’s concerning, especially considering they’ve failed to get on the scoresheet in two of their three previous top-flight meetings with Man City at the Etihad (W1, L2).