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

Another slice of history could await Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Sunday, when he takes his Citizens side to face Brentford in the Premier League.

The Catalan coach needs just one more victory to reach a staggering 250 in the competition, and unsurprisingly, he would do so in record time if the visitors come up trumps at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Match preview

Rediscovering that familiar winning feeling in the top flight, Man City may have the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal peering over their shoulder after taking seven points from the last nine on offer, consigning back-to-back losses to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion to the past.

Benefitting from just the third instance of a player scoring two own goals in one Premier League game, Man City put five past a beleaguered Burnley at the Etihad last weekend, as Maxime Esteve and Erling Haaland both put two past Martin Dubravka in a 5-1 battering.

The feel-good factor looked set to continue at the Stade Louis II in midweek, but Guardiola's men had to settle for a point in a 2-2 Champions League draw with Monaco, as Eric Dier scored a last minute penalty to rescue a point for the Ligue 1 side - who had that on their bingo card for 2025.

Nevertheless, a six-game unbeaten run is nothing to be scoffed at for Man City - especially considering their travails last autumn - and the visitors are also the only team in the Premier League to have led for over half of their time on the pitch this season (55.3%).

If Guardiola's men convert another lead into another victory in West London, the former Barcelona boss would have reached 250 Premier League wins in just 349 games in the competition, breaking Arsene Wenger's (423) record for the manager to hit that milestone in the quickest time.

As Guardiola goes in search of Premier League win number 250, Brentford boss Keith Andrews pursues victory number five in the top flight, having masterminded the end of the Bees' three-match sequence without success against Man City's bitter adversaries.

The latest man to outclass Ruben Amorim on the tactics front, Andrews oversaw a fabulous 3-1 victory over Manchester United in last Saturday's lunchtime kickoff, where an Igor Thiago brace and Mathias Jensen effort rendered a Benjamin Sesko strike inconsequential.

Doing enough to defy any pre-season relegation expectations so far, Brentford are sitting comfortably in the upper lower half of the Premier League table ahead of gameweek seven, and victory would bring them level on 10 points with Saturday's visitors.

Reigniting their golden touch at the Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford have netted at least two goals in five of their last six Premier League games at home - losing just once in that time - after previously going eight games without a top-flight success in front of their own supporters.

The Bees do not have to travel too far back into the past for their most recent victory over Man City either - taking down the Sky Blues in 2023 - but Guardiola's men have since taken 10 points from the last 12 on offer in this head-to-head.

Brentford Premier League form:

Brentford form (all competitions):

Manchester City Premier League form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Team News

There was little in the way of team news at Guardiola's pre-game press conference, as the Catalan coach confirmed that his side picked up no new worries in the draw with Monaco, where Rodri came through 61 minutes unscathed.

Guardiola previously said that he was hopeful of having Omar Marmoush (knee) back before the international break, but the Egyptian will seemingly be absent again, as will Rayan Cherki (thigh), Abdukodir Khusanov (ankle) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (unspecified).

Overlooked by Thomas Tuchel for the latest England squad, one would not put it past Phil Foden to show the Three Lions boss what he is missing; the 25-year-old has scored seven Premier League goals against Brentford in the past, including six at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Brentford, meanwhile, have been blessed with a double and potentially even triple injury boost for Sunday's game, where Reiss Nelson (illness) and Fabio Carvalho (knee) are both back in contention after missing the win over Man United.

Gustavo Nunes is also on the brink of returning from a thigh injury, although he may build up his minutes with the B team first, while Paris Maghoma - also thigh - will be out until after the international break.

However, Andrews will surely consider no alterations to the XI that started against Man United, where hotshot Thiago made it five goals from just six shots on target across all competitions in the 2025-26 season.

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Hickey; Henderson, Yarmolyuk; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Nunes, Stones, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Gonzalez; Savinho, Foden, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland

We say: Brentford 1-2 Manchester City

Brentford's knack for goals at home could spell danger for a fatigued Man City side, but the Bees are also without a clean sheet in five, so shut-outs should be off the menu.

However, with Haaland still in red-hot form and City boasting the highest shot-conversion rate in the Premier League this season (18.4%), Guardiola should be celebrating Premier League win number 250 come full time.

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