Predicted Starting Line-Up: Brentford vs Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City travel to the outskirts of London for their last game before the October international break, and will be hoping to maintain an unbeaten record since the last pause for national team commitments.

This week saw City travel to the south of France before succumbing to a brave AS Monaco side to take a solitary point through a late, and controversial, penalty converted by Eric Dier at Stade Louis II.

The Blues had scored twice in the first-half thanks to Erling Haaland, who kept up his impressive form in the UEFA Champions League, with the Norwegian having now struck 52 goals in 50 outings in the competition.

The home side hit the back of the net thanks to Jordan Teze in the first-half, trailed at the half-time interval 1-2, but put up a fight in the second period of time as Manchester City began to slow in their own intensity.

As for Brentford, Manchester City always face a tough opponent at the Gtech Community Stadium, drawing last season’s equivalent fixture 2-2 with Phil Foden scoring twice, and Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard completing a comeback for the Bees.

Speaking to the media on Friday afternoon, Pep Guardiola highlighted Keith Andrews’ work and spoke on how difficult it is to play against the Bees, proving that City will not be taking any chances this time out.

The Catalan manager also spoke about Rodri’s development since returning back from his long-term injury during the last campaign, making it clear that he will not be at his best perhaps until the 2026 FIFA World Cup next summer.

Now, here is our predicted starting line-up for Manchester City’s trip to the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday afternoon!

Predicted XI

Gianluigi Donnarumma seems to have secured the position as Manchester City’s starting goalkeeper for the foreseeable future, and the Italian international should be between the posts again on Sunday afternoon.

After his positive contribution last weekend in a 5-1 win over Burnley at the Etihad Stadium, Matheus Nunes may feature once again as a right-back for the Blues, shifting John Stones back onto the substitutes bench after his outing against Monaco.

A man of Pep Guardiola’s trust, Rúben Dias is expected to start once again for Manchester City and use his leadership on the pitch to help the team, while Josko Gvardiol makes playing out the back look easy.

After a wonderful performance at AS Monaco, the aforementioned Croatian may act once again as a ball playing centre-back, and be handed the responsibility of progressing City up the pitch from deep.

It is fair to say that Nico O’Reilly has also made his name as a defensive mainstay for Manchester City, this time as a left-sided full-back. With Rayan Ait-Nouri still unavailable owing to recovery from an ankle injury, the Academy graduate should be in the starting eleven.

The Manchester City manager left it clear during press conference duties on Friday that Rodri is irreplaceable in many aspects, despite his ongoing condition. The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner might not be fit for the full 90 minutes, but he is still in our squad prediction to start.

Getting more and more adapted to Manchester City’s style and his own responsibilities every day, Tijjani Reijnders is already a reliable option for the Cityzens. The former AC Milan man may start one more time here before his duties with the Dutch side.

Phil Foden certainly loves a game against Brentford, with seven goals to his name in seven games against the Bees in the Premier League, meaning Sunday afternoon is the perfect chance to keep his personal record.

Having just signed a new long-term contract with the club, Savinho provides valuable offensive power for Pep Guardiola’s side across a few positions, and the Brazilian may need time to show he can shine once again – starting this weekend.

Erling Haaland has found the back of the net in eight consecutive matches, scoring 15 goals in the process. The Norway international is absolutely untouchable in the squad at this moment, and so he leads the line here.

Living his best moment since he arrived at the club in the summer of 2023, Jeremy Doku is an indispensable threat on the wing for Manchester City at present, and given his performances of late, the Belgian might be a starter once again here.

With this tactical set-up, the Blues would attack using their infamous inverted pyramid of a 2-3-5, while defending in a classic 4-4-2.

Starting XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Rodri, Reijnders, Foden; Savinho, Doku, Haaland.

Substitutes: Trafford, Lewis, Stones, Aké, Nico, Kovacic, Bernardo, Bobb, Cherki.