Analysing Brentford ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash | OneFootball

An in-depth look at Saturday’s opponents…

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We welcome Brentford to the Etihad Stadium at 17:30 (UK) on Saturday 9 April.

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After a late comeback at Everton on Monday earned a point, we’re now unbeaten in seven games.

Sitting five points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, we’re looking for three points to keep the pressure on Mikel Arteta’s side.

With the help of Opta data, let’s find out a little more about our opponents…

Recent form

Brentford are on the cusp of a historic season, sitting seventh with 51 points from 35 matches.

That means they have a shot of European qualification for the very first time in their history.

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However, they’ve won just one of their last five Premier League games, despite only losing one of those too.

Preferred lineup

Keith Andrews hasn’t made a change to his starting XI in the last three games, setting up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Former Liverpool man Caoimhin Kelleher has excelled in his first season as a regular number one.

Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg are the defenders in front of him, with Michael Kayode on the right and Keane Lewis-Potter an unlikely figure at left-back.

Mathias Jensen and Yehor Yarmoliuk are the ball-playing midfielders with Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade and Dango Ouattara behind central striker Igor Thiago.

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Manager

Keith Andrews has impressed in his first term as a manager, having been an assistant at MK Dons, Sheffield United and with the Republic of Ireland before joining Brentford.

He was focused on set pieces in his first season before replacing Thomas Frank at the helm.

It’s fair to say he’s excelled, leading his side to 14 wins in 35 games – a 40% win record placing above many of the most experienced bosses in the division.

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Head-to-head record

We’ve won three of our four home Premier League games against Brentford, with the 2-1 defeat in November 2022 proving the exception.

Given this is just their fifth season in the top-flight, we’ve only actually faced the Bees nine times in total – winning six and scoring 13 in that time.

Erling Haaland got the only goal of the game in the reverse fixture, while we also registered a 2-0 victory in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.

How they attack

The key thing to note with Brentford’s attack is the exceptional performance of Igor Thiago up top.

The Brazilian has netted 22 times in the Premier League – only behind Erling Haaland on 25 – in just his second campaign in English football.

He’s scored almost half of their goals, with Brentford the league’s seventh best scorers on 52.

They are however significantly underperforming their xG, having created enough chances for 56.7 goals.

They are just as deadly as City when it comes to goals on the break, converting nine times in transitions.

Expect them to keep going right until the very end too, with only Liverpool on 19 scoring more than Brentford’s 18 goals in the last 15 minutes of matches.

Despite Andrews’ remit as set piece coach last season, that is one area they have struggled this year, with only four goals from corners – the joint-worst tally in the whole league.

As for possession, don’t expect them to keep the ball too long, with their 397 average passes per match the sixth lowest of all 20 teams.

How they defend

Letting in 46 goals so far, Brentford’s defence is the seventh best in the Premier League.

While they are susceptible to headed goals (13 conceded, 17th best in the league), they are the best in the division at defending corners.

They don’t tend to press too high out of possession, having only won the ball in the final third on 110 occasions – 15 teams have done so more.

Meanwhile, they’re not a particularly ill disciplined side having committed the fifth fewest fouls in the Premier League on 360 and suffered one red card.

Kelleher has been one of the outstanding goalkeepers, keeping 10 clean sheets and saving 68.4% of shots on his goal.

Be at City v Crystal Palace!

City’s postponed clash with Crystal Palace will take place at 20:00 on Wednesday 13 May.

And you can be there to see Pep Guardiola’s side chasing down the Premier League title!

Tickets for this game are now available, starting from £43 for adults and £18 for Under-18s.

There are also plenty of hospitality options to suit all range of budgets!

Get your tickets here!