Manchester City will travel to Brentford for what could prove a tricky Premier League match at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola's team have had an inconsistent start to the season, having won three of their six matches while suffering two defeats and a draw. They are coming into Saturday's game after a 2-2 draw against Monaco in their Champions League match.
Man City beat Burnley 5-1 in the Premier League last weekend which provided a much-needed boost after their 1-1 draw against title-chasing Arsenal.
While the team's performances have been mixed, star striker Erling Haaland has been in superb form, having scored 11 goals already from eight matches in all competitions. He's leading the goal-scoring charts in the league with eight in six.
Meanwhile, Brentford will take a lot of inspiration from their deserved 3-1 win over Manchester United last Saturday. Forward Igor Thiago scored twice in the first half while Mathias Jensen netted in the second half injury time to cap off a brilliant victory.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Saturday's match:
How to watch:
The match will be shown on Sky Sports 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:
Date: Sunday, October 5 at 16:30 p.m. BST (11:30 a.m. ET; 9.00 p.m. IST, and 02:30 a.m. AEDT, Monday)
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium
Referee: Darren England
VAR: Paul Howard
Team News:
Manchester City
Mateo Kovacic, M: achilles tendon, OUT, est. return early Nov
Omar Marmoush, F: knee, OUT, est. return early Oct
Rayan Cherki, M: thigh, OUT, est. return late Oct
Rayan Ait-Nouri, D: ankle, OUT, est. return mid-Oct
Abdukodir Khusanov, D: knock, OUT
Brentford
Gustavo Nunes, F: hamstring, DOUBT
Paris Maghoma, M; Fitness, OUT
Expected Lineups:
Manchester City
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma
RB: Rico Lewis | CB: Rúben Dias | CB: Josko Gvardiol | LB: Nathan Aké
CM: Tijjani Reijnders | CDM: Rodri | CM: Bernardo Silva
RW: Phil Foden | CF: Erling Haaland | LW: Savinho
Brentford
GK: Caoimhín Kelleher
RWB: Michael Kayode | CB: Sepp van den Berg | CB: Nathan Collins | CB: Ethan Pinnock | LWB: Keane Lewis-Potter
CM: Yehor Yarmoliuk | CM: Jordan Henderson | CAM: Mikkel Damsgaard
ST: Igor Thiago | ST: Kevin Schade
Stats:
City have only lost one of their four Premier League visits to Brentford (W2, D1).
Brentford have won four of their last six Premier League home games (D1, L1), scoring at least twice in five of those matches.
City (18.4%) and Brentford (17.7%) have the two highest shot conversion rates in the Premier League this season.
Pep Guardiola has won 249 of his 348 Premier League matches as City manager (D50, L49). He could become the 16th manager to win 250 top-flight games with a single club and would reach that total in only 349 games -- 74 games quicker than anyone else has managed.
City's Phil Foden has only scored more Premier League goals against Brighton (8) than he has against Brentford (7), with six of his seven goals against Brentford coming at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Latest news and analysis:
- Man City's Haaland on pace to surpass Messi and Ronaldo's best seasons. But is that good?
With 11 goals through eight matches in the Premier League and Champions League, it's working for Haaland -- but can it work for Manchester City?-
- Are Manchester City 'back'? Not even Pep Guardiola knows
Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva were both asked at their respective pre-match news conferences on Tuesday evening about the level of this City team. Neither player or manager seemed entirely sure of the answer.
- Haaland laments Man City draw as Messi's record looms
The Norway international could not hide his frustration as City squandered victory by conceding a late penalty for a 2-2 draw against Monaco in the UEFA Champions League.
- Eddie Nketiah and Michael Kayode starring for Premier League surprise packages Crystal Palace and Brentford
The top two -- Liverpool and Arsenal -- may be aligned with many people's pre-season predictions, but Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Brentford are performing far above expectations, and all three were among the big winners last weekend.
- Brentford dominate Man United, hand Ruben Amorim another loss
Brentford had won only once in the Premier League and started the day just outside the bottom three, but an excellent team performances was typified by the excellent Jordan Henderson and Mikkel Damsgaard in midfield and Thiago's clinical finishing.