Brentford vs Manchester City should be a very fun watch for the neutral on Wednesday (watch live, 3:15pm ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com) as Thomas Frank and Pep Guardiola do battle.
STREAM LIVE BRENTFORD V MANCHESTER CITY
Brentford have already given some of the big boys a scare at home this season, as they beat Arsenal on the opening weekend of the season, drew against Liverpool and should’ve at least got a point against Chelsea at the Brentford Community Stadium. Thomas Frank’s side are sitting on 20 points from their opening 17 games, which is a very good effort in their first-ever season in the Premier League. However, injuries have hit them hard in recent weeks as they have lost six of their last 10 games in the PL and lost 2-0 at Brighton on Boxing Day. We are about to see if Thomas Frank can rejuvenate (and possibly reinvent) the Bees ahead of the second half of the season.
Man City have looked rejuvenated in recent months as Pep Guardiola’s boys are flying and have won nine games on the spin in the Premier League and they’re now six points clear atop the table. They hammered Leicester City 6-3 on Boxing Day and although they were 4-0 up, they did let Leicester back into the game as they briefly made it 4-3. Getting rid of those defensive errors is key for City but aside from that, things are looking great as Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are running the show in midfield and Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias continue to dazzle in defense. Can anybody stop Man City?
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Brentford vs Manchester City.
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Brentford team news, injuries, lineup options
The Bees have a huge number of injuries as center back Kristoffer Ajer is out until January but is recovering well, while goalkeeper David Raya will miss the next few months after he suffered a serious knee injury. Christian Norgaard is suspended, while left back Rico Henry is a huge doubt after a thigh injury. Mads Rasmussen is doubtful after a recent positive COVID-19 test, while Vitaly Janelt is out after testing positive. Charlie Goode and Bryan Mbuemo are doubts with knocks, plus Josh DaSilva and Mathias Jorgensen remain out and Julian Jeanvier is working his way back to full fitness. Given all of that, Brentford will send out a very similar lineup to the team which was beaten easily at Brighton.
🚨 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 🚨
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) December 29, 2021
🔄 Roerslev returns in place of Canos
➡ Onyeka and Wissa also start
⬅ Norgaard (suspended) and Mbeumo (calf) among 11 absentees tonight
Teams presented by @BlueJeansNet #BrentfordFC #BREMCI pic.twitter.com/QG5FeUBJaz
Manchester City team news, injuries, lineup options
Ferran Torres has been out since October with an ankle injury and his impending move to Barcelona is in the final stages of completion. Liam Delap remains out, while Kyle Walker has been missing due to illness and Rodri tested positive for COVID-19 recently. John Stones has a knock and is doubtful for this game. Guardiola has rested Jack Grealish and Phil Foden in recent games after reported off-field issues with the pair and this seems like the perfect game for the Man City boss to shuffle his pack a little and bring back the England international playmakers.
📋 TEAM NEWS 📋
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 29, 2021
XI | Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Ake, Fernandinho (C), De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden, Jesus, Grealish
SUBS | Steffen, Carson, Sterling, Gundogan, Zinchenko, Mahrez, Mbete, Palmer#ManCity | @HaysTechnology pic.twitter.com/UbmyFFktqP