There is one match in the Premier League on Tuesday evening as Manchester City play the match they had to delay when they went to the Club World Cup. Brentford are the visitors to the Etihad Stadium in a key fixture in the campaign.
Both teams need the points for different reasons on Tuesday evening so we should be in for a cracking contest, albeit one which will not be available for us to watch on TV in the UK so you’ll need either radio commentaries or social media updates to follow the game.
Manchester City
Manchester City know they have the chance to move to within a point of the leaders Liverpool if they can win this match. They will be looking to bounce back from a surprising drop of a couple of points against Chelsea at the weekend when their biggest enemy was their own missed chances. That draw was a surprise but in the main we do look like we are in the middle of one of those bursts of Manchester City form which separates themselves from the rest.
These two sides met recently at Brentford and City ran out comfortable 3-1 winners despite dropping behind in the game and you would imagine on their own patch they will be able to dominate this one even more than they did that one. City have won seven of their last nine in the Premier League and have progressed in the FA Cup and boosted their Champions League quarter final hopes in that time so they look in decent enough order.
Brentford
Things certainly haven’t been going as well for Brentford in recent times and although a win over Wolves 10 days ago moved them away from the relegation zone, they are only five points clear of it and certainly don’t need their poor recent form to continue for too much longer. They have lost eight of their last 10 in the Premier League and have slid far too close to the bottom three for comfort so anything they can get from this one will certainly help them out a touch.
The general consensus was that Brentford would be ok when Ivan Toney returned and while he has given their offensive play a bit of a boost, their defence has suddenly become a bit of an issue. They have conceded two or more in seven of their last eight matches and you would think that is a formula which could cause them some trouble if it isn’t sorted out. That defence is likely to come under huge pressure in this match.
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Team News
Manchester City will be without a couple of players for this contest with Josko Gvardiol said to be out for another couple of weeks with an ankle injury, while the injury which Jack Grealish picked up in Copenhagen last week will keep him out of the side.
Brentford have been having a long injury list to contend with and Ethan Pinnock was added to it ahead of their loss to Liverpool on Saturday. He misses out here too as do Rico Henry, Bryan Mbeumo, Josh Dasilva and Kevin Schade.
Betting
It is hard to see anything but a Manchester City win here, particularly based on how easy it was for them when they got to grips with the game in London a couple of weeks ago. The question as ever with City is whether they are worth backing on a handicap or if there is a market which offers up value without coming away from having the City win on side. I guess City to win and both teams to score could offer something up but Brentford looked a little toothless at home to Liverpool at the weekend until they scored a consolation.
The bet I like in this match is for Phil Foden to score anytime. He actually has the last four Manchester City goals against Brentford and has five against the Bees in total in his career. There was an excellent piece in the Monday Night Football programme ahead of the reverse meeting between these two which highlighted how Brentford double up on Erling Haaland and that just creates space for maestros like Foden to do their thing. Foden is having an excellent season anyway and this Brentford defence looked all over the shop against Liverpool at the weekend. I would be surprised if chances don’t come the way of the England man and equally surprised if he doesn’t take one of them.
Tips
Back P.Foden to score anytime for a 2/10 stake at 2.88 with Betfair
