Following their involvement in a true Boxing Day classic, Manchester City resume their quest for Premier League glory during Wednesday's battle with Brentford.
The Bees went down 2-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, while Pep Guardiola's side came out on top in a nine-goal thriller with Leicester City.
Match preview
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Brentford will certainly look back on 2021 with unbridled fondness, with Thomas Frank's side earning a hard-fought promotion to the big time before establishing themselves as a true Premier League outfit with their early-season showings.
However, the Bees lost their sting as the Seagulls swooped to claim all three points in the final Boxing Day fixture, with Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay both producing eye-catching finishes to extend Brentford's inconsistent streak in the top flight.
Frank's outfit have now won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six in the top flight, with that sticky patch seeing them enter the gameweek 13th in the table - level on points with 12th-placed Crystal Palace having played a game fewer.
Brentford's recent away form is certainly nothing to write home about, but having posted back-to-back home wins against Everton and Watford, the Bees could now win three top-flight games on the bounce on familiar territory for the first time since March 1939.
Arsenal and Liverpool have both failed to assert their dominance at the Brentford Community Stadium - while European champions Chelsea only prevailed by a 1-0 scoreline - but facing the free-scoring leaders is a whole different kettle of fish.
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In a result fit for the astounding 1963 Boxing Day scorelines, Man City were tipped for double figures by some after going 4-0 up inside 25 minutes against Leicester, whose never-say-die attitude would come to the fore in the second period.
After Brendan Rodgers's side had threatened a miraculous comeback by dragging the scoreline back to 4-3, Aymeric Laporte and Raheem Sterling quickly extinguished any hopes of a stunning turnaround to help their side run out 6-3 winners at the Etihad.
Having now posted a remarkable 17 goals in their last three Premier League games - as well as winning each of their last nine - Man City have opened up a six-point gap over second-placed Liverpool before the Reds meet Leicester on Tuesday.
The reigning champions also travel to the Brentford Community Stadium on a five-game winning streak away from home in the top flight - scoring at least two goals on each occasion - but it has been over 24 years since they last locked horns with the Bees.
It was a joyous occasion for City back then as they prevailed 1-0 in the 1996-97 FA Cup, but Brentford did the double over the Citizens back in the 1937-38 season - coincidentally while the Manchester outfit were the reigning top-flight champions.
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Team News
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Brentford lost Bryan Mbeumo to a tight calf after just 41 minutes against Brighton, with the attacker joining Zanka, Kristoffer Ajer, Josh Dasilva, Rico Henry, Charlie Goode and David Raya on the sidelines.
Frank's midfield options have also been depleted by the absences of Vitaly Janelt (COVID-19) and the suspended Christian Norgaard, with Frank Onyeka hopeful of earning a recall here.
Yoane Wissa will likely support Ivan Toney up top in Mbeumo's possible absence, with Dominic Thompson continuing on the left-hand side for the time being.
As for City, Kyle Walker and Rodri were not passed fit for the clash with Leicester, and Guardiola may very well choose to save the pair for the New Year's Day clash with an in-form Arsenal.
John Stones also missed out on Boxing Day due to injury, as did Ferran Torres, but the Spaniard is on the verge of completing a move to Barcelona anyway.
Phil Foden and Jack Grealish will both hope to be reinstated to the first XI after being dropped due to off-field behaviour, with Guardiola also potentially considering Gabriel Jesus for a recall amid the packed schedule.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Pinnock, Sorensen, Jansson; Canos, Onyeka, Baptiste, Jensen, Thompson; Wissa, Toney
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Cancelo, Laporte, Ake, Zinchenko; Gundogan, Fernandinho, De Bruyne; Jesus, Foden, Grealish
We say: Brentford 1-3 Manchester City
Guardiola and City may very well have one eye on the impending showdown with Arsenal, but that should not impact their hopes of a routine win over an inconsistent Brentford.
The Bees have performed valiantly against the big teams on home soil, but amid an absentee crisis which is not letting up, City ought to record a 10th successive Premier League win in style.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 64.85%. A draw had a probability of 20.1% and a win for Brentford had a probability of 15.07%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 0-2 with a probability of 11.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (10.76%) and 1-2 (9.87%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.53%), while for a Brentford win it was 1-0 (4.6%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 10.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Manchester City would win this match.
