City seek to extend their lead at the summit of the EPL table. Brentford need a win to gain some momentum. What will happen in this colossal Premier League encounter?

After being involved in a genuine Boxing Day classic, Manchester City continue their pursuit of English Premier League (EPL) glory, during Wednesday’s showdown at the Brentford Community Stadium.

The Bees lost 2-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, while Pep Guardiola’s outfit won a nine-goal thriller with Leicester City.

Following a promising start to the season, Brentford have been inconsistent and now sit 13th in the EPL with 20 points. Meanwhile, City are top of the tree, six points clear of rivals, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Brentford had to withdraw Bryan Mbeumo with a tight calf before half-time against Brighton. The French forward now joins Zanka, David Raya, Kristoffer Ajer, Josh Dasilva, Rico Henry, and Charlie Goode on the treatment tables.

Manager, Thomas Frank’s midfield options have also been reduced by the absences of Vitaly Janelt (COVID-19) and the suspended Christian Nørgaard. Therefore, Frank Onyeka will be optimistic about earning a recall here.

Yoane Wissa will probably link up with Ivan Toney in attack, with Dominic Thompson continuing on the left for now.

For City, Kyle Walker and Rodri were not passed fit for the clash with Leicester, and Guardiola may opt to save them for the New Year’s Day clash with an in-form Arsenal.

John Stones also missed out on Sunday due to injury, as did Ferran Torres, but the Spanish international looks about to complete a move to Barcelona anyway.

Jack Grealish and Phil Foden will both hope to come back into the first XI after being dropped due to off-field behaviour, with Guardiola also possibly considering Gabriel Jesus for a recall amid a hectic schedule.

With Brentford in the midst of an absentee crisis, we are expecting a comfortable win for Manchester City. Our prediction is 3-0, with two goals scored in the second half.

Brentford possible starting XI:
Fernández; Pinnock, Sørensen, Jansson; Canós, Onyeka, Baptiste, Jensen, Thompson; Wissa, Toney

Manchester City possible starting XI:
Ederson; Cancelo, Laporte, Aké, Zinchenko; Gündoğan, Fernandinho, De Bruyne; Jesus, Foden, Grealish