Manchester City vs Brentford (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Stats, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City will host Brentford at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening in search of a a crucial three points to stay in the Premier League title race.

Pep Guardiola’s side had to walk away with only one point after a 3-3 draw against Everton on Monday night at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, denting their hopes of a ninth Premier League title.

The visitors opened their scoring with Jeremy Doku finding the back of the net in the 43rd minute, concluding the first-half in City’s favor. Everton’s first equalizer of the match came with Thierno Barry’s goal in the 68th minute.

Jake O’Brien took the lead for the homeside in the 73rd minute, followed by Barry scoring another in the next eight minutes. As the Toffees were ahead by two goals, Erling Haaland’s left-footed shot to the high centre of the goal in the 83rd minute brought back some hope for Manchester City.

And while it appeared Everton had the win in the bag, Doku completed his brace, netting City’s much-needed late equalizer deep into stoppage time.

While City maintained their five-match undefeated streak in the Premier League with this draw, the result was still a setback for them in their title race against Arsenal this season.

Now, City ideally need to win all of their remaining four league games this season in order to lift the trophy, starting with their clash against Brentford and here’s everything you need to know for the upcoming high-stakes match this weekend.

Match Details

Manchester City will face Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday 9 May at 17:30 UK at Etihad Stadium.

Match Officials

Michael Salisbury will take charge of the encounter as referee, the Premier League have confirmed. You can find the full list of match officials below:

Team News

City continued to miss Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture) and Ruben Dias (hamstring) against Everton at the start of the week, while there remain doubts over Rodri’s availability for Saturday evening after the midfielder was not named in the matchday squad in Merseyside.

However, Gvardiol and Dias took part in full first-team training on Friday to give themselves a chance of making the wider squad against Brentford, with Rodri notably missing out.

As for Brentford, Antoni Milambo and Fabio Carvalho have been sidelined with knee injuries. The Bees could also be without Jordon Henderson (unspecified) and Rico Henry (thigh), with updates on their fitness expected when manager Keith Andrews previews the fixture in a press conference on Friday afternoon.

Press Conference notes

Pep Guardiola is due to speak to the media on Friday 8 May at 12:30 UK.

Refresh for updates.

Head-to-Head

Manchester City have been pitted against Brentford twice already this season, with Guardiola’s side securing victories in both.

The Blues secured a 2-0 win over the Bees in the Carabao Cup quarter-final in January, having defeated them 1-0 in the Premier League back in October courtesy of an Erling Haaland strike.

Overall, City have faced Brentford in 20 matches across all competitions, with the Etihad side winning 12 of them while the latter managed six wins.

The sides have faced off nine times in the Premier League, where Manchester City also lead with six wins as opposed to the Bees’ two victories.

City have won three out of four league games against Brentford at the Etihad Stadium.

Statistics

Manchester City are undefeated in their last 15 Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium but have dropped a concerning 17 points from winning positions this league campaign.

Guardiola’s side rank second in the Premier League with 71 points in 34 matches, with a five-point deficit to table-toppers Arsenal, who sit on 76 points after 35 games.

Despite having a match in hand over the Gunners, consecutive victories in the last four league games will not be enough for City to claim the title – and they will need Arsenal to drop points in their final three games.

If Manchester City wins all their remaining games, they will finish the campaign with 83 points in the English top-flight – while Arsenal will have 85 points with four wins in four

While once at par on goal difference, Manchester City are now lagging behind with +37 and Arsenal have one of +41.

Brentford, meanwhile, are seventh in the Premier League with 51 points in 35 games. In their last five league clashes, the Bees faced two defeats and two draws, securing a win in their previous match against West Ham last weekend.

Andrews’ men will be hoping for a consecutive win in their upcoming clash against City to keep their hopes alive of playing European football next season.

The Bees have the best shot conversion rate (13.8%) in the top flight this season.

How to Watch

In the UK, the match will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event.

You can find the full global TV listings here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels on Saturday evening, with content also on cityxtra.co.uk!