Manchester City make the trip to West London on Sunday afternoon in their final match before yet another international break. The Blues will be hoping to fare better this time before another round of international matches
takes over – last time, they lost 2-1 at Brighton and the faithful will want a more impressive result.
They take on a Brentford side who recorded their second win of the season last weekend with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United. That result moved them above the Stretford Rangers into 13th place, and was their first win since their opening home game of the season in August, when they beat Aston Villa 1-0.
A win for the Bees will put them level on points with City, but a victory for Pep Guardiola’s boys could see them into third, depending on results elsewhere.
Form
Brentford aren’t having the best of seasons this time around but they still pose a threat to the opposition. They started their season with a 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest, beat Villa, then lost at new boys Sunderland (2-1). They needed a last-minute goal to scrape a 2-2 home draw with Chelsea, then lost their third successive away match in the Premier League by losing 3-1 at Fulham.
At home, they have won two and drawn one, scoring six and conceding three, keeping just the one clean sheet so far. Four of those goals have been scored in the first half, but only against United did they score twice before half-time. Both goals against Chelsea came in the second-half, with United getting their little consolation goal in the 26th minute.
Ones to watch, signings and departures
It has been a period of change at Brentford, with several of their stars departing the club over the summer. Bryan Mbeumo brought in the highest fee when he moved to Manchester United for £65m, where he scored past the mighty Grimsby Town before getting his only Premier League goal to date at home to Burnley. Another forward, DR Congo striker Yoane Wissa moved to Newcastle for £55m, where he is yet to score. Captain Christian Norgaard moved to Arsenal for £15m, where he is yet to make a Premier League appearance for the Gunners.
Coming into the side is Burkina Faso winger Dango Ouattra, who joined the Bees for £45m from Bournemouth. Right back Michael Kayode arrived from Fiorentina in a £17m deal and goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher was signed from Liverpool for £12.5m. Former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson also arrived on a free transfer from Ajax.
Brentford have score nine goals in the Premier League this season and four of them have gone to Igor Thiago. He has attempted 10 shots at goal in six matches and has a goal conversion rate of 40% and a shot accuracy of 50%. The striker also scored a brace against United after just 20 minutes.
Assists have fallen to former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, who has two so far this season. He has attempted 190 passes to date, completing 148 giving him a pass accuracy of 78%.
The Boss
Keith Andrews was the man chosen to replace Thomas Frank as head coach at Brentford after Frank left to join Spurs. Andrews joined Brentford in 2024 as their set-piece coach, and was promoted to top dog after Frank’s departure.
Andrews has overseen just eight matches, winning thee and losing three, giving him a win ratio of 38%.
Last Time Out
In January, City visited Brentford to try and salvage something of their Premier League campaign. After a goalless first half, Phil Foden scored twice in 12 minutes to seemingly put the Blues on the path to victory. But City’s defensive problems surfaced again. Brentford scored four minutes later, then levelled two minutes into injury time to secure a point.
