Manchester City welcome Brentford in the quarter finals of the EFL Cup. 

Manchester City have won this trophy eight times, most recently lifting it back in the 2020/21 season. Brentford have only ever gone as far as the semi finals of this competition, which was in the same season that City lifted the trophy.

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📈 Man City v Brentford Form & Tactics

Manchester City look to be finding top form again, but only with a limited crop of players. Pep Guardiola is very particular about players in certain roles, and only really seems to trust the same 11-13 players based on his squad selections recently. 

This leaves City with a bit of a ‘bomb squad’ which you can see deployed in games that are of less importance to Pep and Manchester City. A good example of this was City’s defeat to Leverkusen in the Champions League where Pep put out a rotated side. He could do the same here, though City welcome West Ham to the Etihad at the weekend so there may not be a big need for mass rotation. 

City are very entertaining to watch this season, especially when Foden and Cherki find the same wavelength. Cherki is really growing into his role with this City side and was influential again at the weekend with an assist from the three chances he created. 

Brentford had an early buzz under Keith Andrews but that seems to have settled now with the Bees only winning one of their last five matches across all competitions (v Burnley). Their away form has been particularly poor with just one win from their eight matches, losing the other seven games. 

Finding goals is proving to be an issue for Brentford on the road with just six from their eight away matches - only Wolves (2) and Sunderland (4) have scored fewer goals on the road in the Premier League than Brentford this season

📔 Man City v Brentford Formation & Team News

Manchester City have been lining up in a 4-1-4-1 shape this season with Pep now trusting Nico Gonzalez to act as the holding midfielder on his own. Gonzalez will never be as good as Rodri was in that role, but he has developed to the point where City can dominate possession and not be completely torn apart when opposition sides find moments in transition.

City are still a tad vulnerable to this, as the 2.08 xG that Palace registered against them at the weekend would suggest. Most of Palace’s chances came on the counter when City had overcommitted bodies forward - but Pep seem more willing to accept that defensive risk to platform his best players - notably Haaland, Foden, Doku and Cherki.

The role and development of Nico O’Reilly has also been a key factor in this City side progressing this season. City signed Rayan Ait-Nouri during the summer, who looked to be a perfect fit for Pep’s system, but O’Reilly just offers a bit more physicality than the former Wolves fullback. 

Another former Wolves player on the opposite side of the pitch is having a really good season - Pep has successfully transitioned Nunes from a midfielder to a fullback and the 27 year old has put in some top performances this season, even defensively which was a real concern when he was initially shifted to that role. 

Brentford could lineup in a few different shapes here but the most likely one is a 5-3-2. Keith Andrews may choose to rotate the side here with a potential relegation six pointer against Wolves coming up at the weekend. Thiago and Schade are likely to lead the line and offer a transitional threat, hoping to be more clinical than Palace were against City last time out. 

Michael Kayode has stood out to me for Brentford this season. He’s Brentford’s weapon for the long throw which is a tactic that the Bees have used more than any other side in the league this season. It’ll be interesting to see his clash against Doku should the winger start, as Kayode is one of the few fullbacks in the Premier League that has the physicality and speed to match Doku.

🔮 Football Predictions at Andy's Bet Club

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For Wednesday's action, there are also EFL Cup Double Tips, as well as betting previews for specific games, including Dundee United v Celtic Predictions and Newcastle v Fulham Tips.

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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.