Brentford lineup vs. Man City Predicted XI for Premier League clash

Top-six hopefuls Brentford will be without three players for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Fabio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo both remain long-term absentees with knee injuries, and Rico Henry (thigh) is also unavailable, but Jordan Henderson is ready to return to the first-team fold after recovering from an unspecified issue.

Following last weekend’s 3-0 victory at home to West Ham United, head coach Keith Andrews could stick with the same starting lineup, but he may also consider making a couple of changes.

Kevin Schade is considered a first-team regular for the Bees, but he is without a goal in his last eight appearances in all competitions and Andrews may contemplate replacing the German with Keane Lewis-Potter on the left flank.

Allowing Lewis-Potter to operate further forward would open up the opportunity for Aaron Hickey or Henry - if fit - to be recalled at left-back and join Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg and Michael Kayode in a four-man defence.

Vitaly Janelt and Josh Dasilva have recovered from injury, the latter making his first senior appearance in over 800 days last weekend. However, they face stiff competition from Mathias Jensen, Yehor Yarmolyuk and Mikkel Damsgaard for a start in midfield.

Igor Thiago has scored 22 Premier League goals this season, two more than any other Brentford player in a single top-flight campaign, and the Golden Boot-chasing Brazilian is set to continue up front, with Dango Ouattara likely to provide support in attack from the right wing.

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Hickey; Jensen, Yarmolyuk; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Thiago

> Click here to see how Manchester City could line up against Brentford

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