When Brentford visits the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening, Manchester City will be looking to get back on track in the Premier League....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The incumbent champions advanced in the FA Cup with a 4-1 win against Fulham at the weekend, but the Bees were defeated by Everton by the same scoreline.
Riyad Mahrez returned from the Africa Cup of Nations with a bang, despite Algeria’s continental disappointment. The former Leicester City striker was in fine form to help Pep Guardiola’s side comfortably defeat Fulham in the FA Cup.
Following goals from Ilkay Gundogan and John Stones in the first half, Mahrez scored twice after the break, forcing Man City to come from behind on their own ground after Liverpool target Fabio Carvalho broke the deadlock after just four minutes.
Manchester City will face Peterborough United in the fifth round as they attempt to keep their historic treble chances alive. However, a 1-1 draw against Southampton before the international break has made the title battle more competitive.
Guardiola’s team currently lead Liverpool by nine points at the top of the table, but the Reds do have a game in hand on the reigning champions, so a couple of poor performances for Manchester City in the coming weeks may throw the title race wide open.
City, on the other hand, will not expect to falter at the Etihad since their 4-1 win over Fulham was their ninth home win in a row in all competitions, including six Premier League victories in a row.
TEAM NEWS:
Manchester City have few injury concerns ahead of Brentford’s visit, with Cole Palmer—who would not have started anyway—and Gabriel Jesus the only two players missing out this week.
Jesus has struggled to shake off niggling injuries from international duty and will not be included in the line-up, while his compatriot Ederson is set to take over in goal from Zack Steffen.
Here is my predicted line-up for this match.
GOALKEEPER & DEFENDERS:
Ederson (GK), Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo.
MIDFIELDERS:
Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne.
ATTACKERS:
Mahrez, Foden, Sterling.
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