2 Manchester City vs 1 Brentford
Manchester City in search of four consecutive victories as Brentford visits.
As league leaders Manchester City prepare to host Brentford at the Etihad on Saturday, all eyes will be on Erling Haaland's goal-scoring prowess, which aims to secure their third consecutive Premier League victory.
Manchester City
League leaders Manchester City swept West Ham aside in a 3-1 win just before the international break, thanks to a hat-trick from Haaland. An own goal from Rúben Dias helped the Hammers restore parity, but back-to-back hat-tricks from Erling Haaland secured City's third consecutive win.
This string of goals left Haaland not only as the Premier League’s top scorer with 7 goals but also as the first player to achieve hat-tricks in two of the first three games in a season since Paul Jewell did in 1994/95.
With challenging fixtures against Inter Milan in the UCL and Arsenal in the league coming up, City will be keen to secure a win over Brentford this weekend. Despite losing twice in six encounters against Brentford, City have emerged victorious in four of those matches.
Picking up a win would mark three successive victories over Brentford, considering their double last season. A 3—4—2—1 formation with Erling Haaland in attack is expected following the international break, with several City players returning.
Haaland scored the winner in Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria on Monday, while Jack Grealish netted England’s second goal in their 2-0 victory over Ireland. Kevin De Bruyne also shined, bagging a brace in Belgium’s 3-1 win against Israel in the Nations League.
Brentford
A brace from Bryan Mbeumo [43’, 65’] helped Brentford to a 3-1 win over newly promoted Southampton last time out, despite a stoppage-time goal from the opposition. With the win, the Bees now have a record of two victories and one defeat [WLW], placing them 6th on the Premier League table with 6 points.
Victory over Manchester City could be described as a tall order, as Brentford has lost more away games (13 in the competition) than any other side. While an unlikely win would be the biggest upset of the fledgling campaign yet, Thomas Frank will be hoping his side draws inspiration from the previous two seasons where they picked up a league double over the Sky Blues, winning 1-0 at home and 2-1 away.
A 4-3-3 formation with Yoane Wissa, Kevin Schade, and Bryan Mbeumo—who was involved in Cameroon’s goalless draw against Zimbabwe—is expected on Saturday.
Team form
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Team Comparison
Side-by-side assessment of team statistics, including goals, attacks, and more. This allows you to directly compare key performance metrics. Analyzing these stats can reveal patterns and strengths that might influence the outcome.