Manchester City host Brentford on Saturday, looking to keep their hopes of lifting a fifth Premier League title in six years alive. Monday evening’s draw against Everton left City five points behind league leaders Arsenal, with a game in hand.
That draw meant that the title is no longer in City’s hands, and they’ll need a favour from one of West Ham United, Burnley or Crystal Palace, in addition to also winning all their remaining four games.
That draw against Everton could have been worse for City, as they were 3-1 down late in the second half, but late goals from Erling Haaland and Jérémy Doku ensured City left the Hill Dickinson with a point.
Brentford, on the other hand, kept their faint hopes of making next season’s UEFA Champions League alive with a superb 3-0 win over West Ham last weekend, as they finally stopped a run of seven games without a win. As it stands, Brentford are seven points behind both Liverpool and Aston Villa, who are level on points in fourth and fifth place, respectively. If they lose this one, then Brentford will have to hope that Villa win the Europa League, and then Keith Andrews’s team will have to finish in sixth place to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s game.
How to watch:
The match will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League in the UK, NBC/Peacock in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Key Details:
Kick-off time: Saturday, May 9, at 5:30 p.m. BST (12:30 p.m. ET; 10:00 p.m. IST, and 2:30 a.m. AEST, Sunday).
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Referee: Michael Salisbury
VAR: James Bell
Injury and Team News:
Manchester City
Josko Gvardiol, D: leg, OUT
Rúben Dias, D: hamstring, DOUBT
Rodri, M: discomfort, DOUBT
Brentford
Vitaly Janelt, M: knock, OUT
Rico Henry, D: hamstring, OUT
Jordan Henderson, M: knock, DOUBT
Fábio Carvalho, M: knee, OUT
Talking Points:
Unfamiliar territory in title race for City
Man City are five points behind Arsenal right now, and have slipped up in the run-in. That isn’t something they’ve done in previous Premier League title races during Pep Guardiola’s time at the club.
City have been close to perfect in April and May during the close title races against Liverpool and Arsenal in the past, but that draw against Everton now puts them in a situation where their fate isn’t in their hands anymore. In addition to being five points behind Arsenal, City are also four goals behind on goal difference, which could yet play a part in deciding where the Premier League title ends up this season.
City will have to put that Everton result behind them, and finish their season with four league wins, irrespective of what happens with the remaining Arsenal games.
Massive day in Brentford’s season
With Liverpool in action before Brentford kick-off at the Etihad, they could make themselves unassailable by the Bees, which would leave Brentford’s Champions League hopes resting squarely on Aston Villa’s results across competitions through to the end of the season.
While Champions League qualification was never going to define this season for Brentford at any point, that is something tangible for them to play for in these final three games of their season. They could still end up qualifying for European competition next season, which will still be a supremely successful season for them.
If they do manage to pick up a big result at the Etihad, then Brentford will leave themselves as odds-on favourites for that European competition spot next season, be it the Europa League or the Conference League, which would be an
City’s second-half woes need to stop
The result against Everton would’ve hurt City because they completely collapsed in the second half. After a mistake from Marc Guéhi gifted Thierno Barry an equaliser, City conceded off a corner to Jake O’Brien, and then to Barry again. They got themselves out of that hole to keep their heads just above the water for now. But, crunch time comes now for City.
They will have to pick themselves up, and will have to improve how they play in the second half of games, which they haven’t done well enough often enough throughout the course of this season. In that game against Everton, even before Guéhi’s mistake, Everton were controlling the game and creating chances, as City weren’t really at the races.
While they have dominated a lot of first halves recently, even if without scoring the number of goals that they’d have liked, City will have to ensure that their performance levels don’t dip in the second halves of their remaining games.
Igor Thiago is key for Brentford
Igor Thiago has been Brentford’s star this season, and even without taking into account the goals he’s scored this season, he’s going to be key for Brentford to get something out of this game. His hold-up play is going to be crucial for Keith Andrews’s game plan in this game.
While Guéhi’s strengths have helped City hugely this season, largely alongside Abdukodir Khusanov, Igor Thiago can be a player who gets the better of him, largely with the Brazilian’s strength, and ability in the air.
Igor Thiago’s hold-up play is crucial for Brentford to bring the likes of Kevin Schade and Dango Ouattara into the game as well, with their pace likely to be a big threat as well.
What do the numbers say?
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Man City are unbeaten in their last 15 league games at the Etihad.
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Man City have dropped 17 points from winning positions this season.
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Brentford have the best shot conversion rate — 13.8% — in the Premier League this season.
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Jeremy Doku has created 50 chances from open play this season, the most by any player to have not include a set-piece.
