Brentford begin February with the first of two Premier League clashes with champions Manchester City in the space of just a few weeks, live on Sky Sports (Monday, 8pm kick-off)
City and Brentford played on the final day of last season at Gtech Community Stadium with the visitors already crowned champions in a game that the Bees won 1-0 thanks to Ethan Pinnock's goal.
It's hard to see this one being as low scoring, though. Brentford's last three results all ended 3-2 (one in favour, two not) while City have been scoring goals even without Erling Haaland – although the Norwegian is expected to be back in contention for this one.
Pre-match Analysis
Richard Cole, Playmaker Stats: Frank could join a select club with a third win over Guardiola
There are positives to take from Brentford’s midweek defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The first half in particular was a fine performance from the Bees. Neal Maupay opened the scoring, making it four games, four goals in 2024 for the French forward after Ivan Toney's shot could only be parried away by Guglielmo Vicario.
The Brentford midfield, with Christian Nørgaard making his first Premier League appearance of the new calendar year, did a fine job disrupting Spurs' fluidity early on. The Bees had 12 interceptions to Spurs' four, 14 clearances to seven, and won 10 aerial duels to one in that first half.
In fact, Spurs had just one shot on target before the break – Timo Werner's clever low effort that Mark Flekken did well to keep out.
Brentford will need to the same things at an even higher level in Monday's game as well as avoid what both Thomas Frank and Nørgaard described as a “blackout” early in the second half that led to conceding three goals in quick succession.
But Thomas Frank may well already have the code to crack City.
The first games between the two in the 2021/22 season were narrow defeats for the then newly promoted Bees who put in a good account of themselves.
Last season it was very different. Brentford weren't afraid to go at City on their own turf in the first tie (registering eight shots on target to City's six in that game with just 25 per cent of possession). The champions struggled to deal with Ivan Toney who would love to get stuck in against them once again.
And while the last game between the two sides was less frantic, it was another deserved win for Brentford and another game when they had more shots on target than Pep Guardiola's side (four to three).
Should Brentford win then Thomas Frank will join a select group of just nine managers to have won three or more games against Pep Guardiola. If you want to know, that list includes Jürgen Klopp, José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Carlo Ancelotti, Nuno Espírito Santo, Arsène Wenger, and Thomas Tuchel.
But Frank would be unique among that group should the Bees win: the Dane would become the first manager ever to defeat a Guardiola team in three consecutive league games.
Scout Report
City going through the gears following Club World Cup triumph
It was another season, another title for Manchester City last year.
When they dropped points in three of their first 10 Premier League matches, they opened the door for Arsenal, who happily climbed to the summit and led the way until April, despite losing 3-1 to City in mid-February.
By this point, though, Pep Guardiola’s men were motoring. From 25 February to 21 May, they won 12 league matches in succession and, with the Gunners succumbing to the inevitable increasing pressure, they won a fifth title in six years with two games still to play, meaning they could afford to draw to Brighton and lose to Brentford with no repercussions whatsoever.
In the summer, the club were not hugely busy, but they spent more than £200 million on four near-like-for-like signings. Mateo Kovačić came in from Chelsea to replace İlkay Gündoğan after his free transfer to Barcelona, while Jérémy Doku and Joško Gvardiol replaced Saudi Pro League bound Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte, respectively. Matheus Nunes joined from Wolves, too, in place of Cole Palmer, who left for Chelsea, where he has blossomed.
The season started with defeat, as Arsenal exacted their revenge for City pipping them to the title by way of a penalty shootout win, after an initial 1-1 draw in the Community Shield. “We faced an extraordinary team,” conceded Guardiola. They did make up for it with European Super Cup victory over Sevilla 10 days later, however.
For the most part, City have been extraordinary this term, too - again, though, they do not lead the way in the second half of the season.
Six straight wins to start the campaign took them top, but defeats to Wolves and Arsenal saw them drop to third by mid-October - then wins over Brighton, Manchester United and Bournemouth lifted them back to the summit. By this point, their Carabao Cup hopes had been ended by Newcastle for another year.
Between mid-November and mid-December, they drew four games - including a thrilling 4-4 at Chelsea and an equally gripping 3-3 with Tottenham at the Etihad - and won just one of six games. Even then they were given a scare by Luton Town, which meant they dropped as low as fourth; quite something for a team of their calibre.
Travelling to the Club World Cup in December brought a welcome break from the Premier League, particularly as the previously infallible Erling Haaland showed he is, in fact, human by sustaining a foot injury that kept him out of nine games in all competitions. But his absence was not felt at the tournament in Saudi Arabia, as City breezed to the trophy via wins over Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense.
“To win this trophy is to be the best team in the world,” said Guardiola after his side beat the latter in the final.
“To win the treble was truly special, but to win two more trophies and now hold these five major titles shows the unique mentality of this team. It is something no other English team has ever achieved, and we will always remember this incredible time we spent together.”
Since returning to the UK, they have won three games in the Premier League to climb to within three points of current leaders Liverpool with a game in hand and twice in the FA Cup, which has seen them book a fifth-round date with Luton.
City are starting to move through the gears again so, with Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League glory still very much on the cards, it’s far too early to write off the chances of Guardiola’s squad achieving an unprecedented quintuple over the next five months.
In the Dugout
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola was born an hour’s drive from Barcelona and joined the club’s La Masia academy in 1984, aged 13.
He rose through the ranks and became a key part of Johan Cruyff’s team in the 1990s, before later playing under Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal at the Nou Camp.
During 10 full seasons in the first team, the midfielder won 15 trophies, including six La Liga titles and the European Cup in 1991/92.
He departed after 17 years in 2001 and played out the rest of his playing days with Roma and Brescia in Italy, Al-Ahli in Qatar, and then in Mexico with Dorados, before calling it quits in 2006.
Before long, he was back in Spain as Barcelona B manager. Promotion in the first season, 2007/08, saw him selected to step up as Frank Rijkaard’s successor and, over the next four seasons, he established himself as one of the great minds of football. His tiki-taka style of play heralded an astonishing 14 trophies, six of which they won during a mind-blowing 2009.
The serial winner took a year’s sabbatical before joining Bayern Munich in June 2013. In Germany, he delivered three straight Bundesliga titles, two German Cups, one European Super Cup and one Club World Cup - the third of a career that had spanned all of six years to that point.
By the end of his time in Bavaria, Guardiola already knew his next move, having signed a three-year contract in February 2016 to replace Manuel Pellegrini that summer.
In the eight years since, he has become Manchester City’s most successful manager, leading them to 16 trophies over the years that they have become a footballing powerhouse; one of Europe’s undoubted elites.
The Spaniard is under contract at the Etihad until the summer of 2025 and, once Jürgen Klopp leaves Liverpool in the summer, he is set to become the longest-serving current Premier League manager and the third longest-serving boss in the country.
The Gameplan
With Manchester Evening News’ Simon Bajkowski
Chief Manchester City writer for Manchester Evening News Simon Bajkowski explains how Pep Guardiola is likely to set up his side on Monday night:
“Assuming Erling Haaland is not quite ready to start, I think we can expect the following: Ederson; Kyle Walker, Rúben Dias, Nathan Aké, Joško Gvardiol; Rodri, Phil Foden, Mateo Kovačić; Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish; Julián Álvarez.”
Read the full interview with Simon Bajkowski here
Match Officials
Gillett handed first Brentford assignment of the season
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistants: Neil Davies and Darren Cann
Fourth official: Stuart Attwell
Video assistant referee: Paul Tierney
Additional video assistant referee: Constantine Hatzidakis
Born on the Gold Coast, Australia, highly rated A-League referee Jarred Gillett emigrated to England in 2019 to study at Liverpool John Moore’s University, specialising in research on children with Cerebral Palsy.
He went on to make his EFL officiating debut in April of that same year.
Gillett made history in September 2021 when he became the first overseas official to referee a Premier League match when he took charge of Watford v Newcastle United.
Gillett’s last Brentford assignment was the Bees’ 3-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur in May 2023.
Last Meeting
Brentford 1 Manchester City 0 (Premier League, 28 May 2023)
Ethan Pinnock’s late goal saw Brentford become the only team to do the double over Manchester City in the 2022/23 Premier League season.
On the day he signed a new long-term contract, the defender prodded home Bryan Mbeumo’s knock-down with five minutes to play to ensure a fitting end to a wonderful season.
Champions City dominated the game but, aside from Cole Palmer efforts at either end of the game - one saved by David Raya, and the other cleared off the line by Ben Mee - they did little to put the home goal under sustained pressure.
Pinnock’s goal ensured that Brentford finished the season with five wins from their last six and just two home defeats all campaign.