Premier League : Manchester City vs Brentford Match Review

Manchester City will return to the top of the Premier League table, if they claim maximum points against Brentford at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

It is fair to say that Man City have thoroughly enjoyed playing on home soil in recent months as they have put together an impressive 16-game winning run at the Etihad across all competitions dating back to April, scoring 61 goals in the process.

The Citizens followed up their last-gasp 2-1 Premier League victory with 10 men against Fulham last weekend, with a 2-0 success against Chelsea in the EFL Cup third round, courtesy of second-half strikes from Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez.

Man City have won seven of their last eight top-flight matches, but they still sit two points behind league leaders Arsenal; the Citizens can only finish the weekend at the summit if they beat Brentford and hope that the Gunners drop points away at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening.

The Bees, meanwhile, are required to pull off an upset against the reigning top-flight champions if they wish to head into the World Cup break inside the top half of the table.

After conceding a 96th-minute equaliser to draw 2-2 away at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last weekend, Brentford suffered a disappointing EFL Cup exit at home to League Two outfit Gillingham on Tuesday night.

Brentford have slipped down to 11th place in the Premier League standings with only three wins on the board after 14 matches, and hopes of heading into the World Cup break on a high will be a tall order against the reigning top-flight champions.

Man City striker Erling Braut Haaland, who was an unused substitute in midweek, could return to the starting lineup, with Guardiola expected to make several changes to the side that beat Chelsea.

As for Brentford, they will be without Pontus Jansson (hamstring), Aaron Hickey, Thomas Strakosha (both ankle), Kristoffer Ajer, Charlie Goode (both knee) and Shandon Baptiste (muscle), who are all ruled out until after the World Cup with injuries.