Preview: Manchester City vs Brentford - prediction, team news, lineups

The first of three all-Premier League EFL Cup quarter-finals, Manchester City and Brentford do battle at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The Sky Blues eased past Swansea City 3-1 to reach the last eight of the competition, while the Bees put five past Grimsby Town without reply.

Match preview

While there are Premier League and Champions League trophies to be won, the EFL Cup may not rank high on the priority lists of Man City supporters, but Pep Guardiola and co have former glories to restore in this particular competition.

Memorably winning six of the eight editions of the competition between 2013-14 and 2020-21, City have not claimed another EFL Cup honour since defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the latter final; in fact, they have not even been beyond the quarter-finals since.

Progression to the semis on Wednesday would therefore be a wonderful omen for the Sky Blues, who have gone on to lift the trophy after winning each of their last six quarter-final ties, although they were dumped out at this stage by Southampton in 2022-23.

Guardiola oversaw routine wins over Huddersfield Town and Swansea earlier in the competition, and the hosts enter Wednesday's battle in fine fettle both domestically and continentally, winning each of their last five matches on the spin in all tournaments.

The 3-0 scoreline against Crystal Palace on Sunday did not tell the full story of that Premier League scrap - the wasteful Eagles were their own worst enemies in front of goal - but City were clinical when their chances came.

Guardiola's men therefore remain Arsenal's closest challengers in the Premier League table, and nine of their last 10 home matches have ended in victory, the one aberration being their Champions League beating at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.

While Man City have only had to pit their wits against lower-tier foes in the 2025-26 EFL Cup so far, Keith Andrews's Brentford saw off both Bournemouth and Aston Villa before being handed a straightforward route to the quarter-finals.

The Bees were rewarded for their second and third-round exploits with a trip to Grimsby Town, who could not repeat their Manchester United miracle at Blundell Park as Brentford surged to a five-goal victory thanks to five different scorers.

Still hunting their first-ever major honour - excluding second, third and fourth-tier English titles - Brentford have impressively now made the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup for the fourth time in six seasons, but their journey last year ended at this stage to eventual winners Newcastle United.

Only once before have the West London club reached the semi-finals of the League Cup - falling to Spurs at that point in 2021 - but both precedent and the form book suggest that Andrews will struggle to repeat that Thomas Frank feat.

Brentford are now winless in three straight matches following Sunday's 1-1 stalemate with newly-promoted Leeds United, who could count themselves unfortunate to only claim a point given they generated more than double the Expected Goals and total shots of their hosts.

Furthermore, the visitors are on a dismal four-match losing streak away from home - conceding at least two goals each time - and City's 1-0 triumph over Andrews's men in October extended their unbeaten run in this fixture to five games.

Manchester City EFL Cup form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Brentford EFL Cup form:

Brentford form (all competitions):

Team News

City unexpectedly arrived at Selhurst Park without Jeremy Doku on Sunday; Guardiola revealed that the Belgian winger was nursing a leg injury, but there is still no information on the severity of his issue.

Doku is one of two question marks for the hosts this week alongside experienced defender John Stones (thigh), but Rodri's hamstring problem may not clear up until later in the month, and Mateo Kovacic's calcified ankle will take months to heal.

Even at this stage of the competition against Premier League opposition, Guardiola should not hesitate to play Pep Roulette, offering starts to the likes of Omar Marmoush, Savinho, Oscar Bobb, Rico Lewis and James Trafford this week.

As for Brentford, Andrews is guaranteed to receive at least one selection boost for the quarter-final, as key attacker Kevin Schade will return after missing the Leeds draw due to suspension.

Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson - one of the scorers in the 5-0 win over Grimsby in round four - might shake off his knock in time to be involved too, but Josh Dasilva (knee), Antoni Milambo (knee) and Fabio Carvalho (knee) are still on the treatment table.

With no European commitments to worry about, Andrews will likely put out a near full-strength XI for the quarter-final, but the 45-year-old faces an unenviable dilemma over whether to stick with cup goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson or side with number one Caoimhin Kelleher.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Trafford; Lewis, Khusanov, Ake, Ait-Nouri; Reijnders, Silva; Bobb, Cherki, Savinho; Marmoush

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Valdimarsson; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Henry; Henderson, Yarmoliuk; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago

We say: Manchester City 2-1 Brentford

EFL Cup glory would hold much greater significance for Brentford than Man City, and that ought to be reflected in the two teams' starting lineups, but Andrews's big-hitters were nevertheless largely found wanting at home to Leeds.

On the other hand, Guardiola's second-string attackers can still strike fear into the hearts of defences, and even if it is not pretty, the Sky Blues should punch their ticket to the semi-finals.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.