Jeremy Doku rescued a point for Man City in the 97th minute against Everton last time out, which just about keeps them in the Premier League title race as we approach the final few games. That result ended a six-game winning streak for Pep Guardiola’s men, who will hope to get back on track this weekend. 

Brentford secured 3-0 win against Brentford last time out, which ended a seven-game winless run across all competitions. The Bees have stuttered in recent weeks, but they are still seventh in the standings, one point behind Bournemouth. However, this upcoming matchup against Man City promises to be a tough one, as Keith Andrews’ side have lost twice against them this term. 

It finished 2-0 to City when these sides met in the EFL Cup quarter-finals in December. Brentford were barely able to lay a glove on the hosts in that match - they managed just three shots worth 0.18 xG. 

It was one-way traffic at the Etihad in that game, and City registered a total of five corners. In the reverse fixture in the league at the Gtech, City also secured a 1-0 win, but they only managed two corners.

However, it is worth noting that they took the lead in the ninth minute, and the context around this tie means they will have to be front-footed for the entire 90 minutes, as goal difference could play a big role in who lifts the title. 

City have seen a massive increase in corners recently, with at least eight corners in each of their last five straight matches. That includes nine corners against Everton last time out. They also racked up 11 corners in their prior league match against Burnley, and eight against league leaders Arsenal before that.

Erling Haaland has been in outstanding form in recent weeks, and he found the back of the net against Everton last time out.

That was his 25th Premier League goal of the season, but the Norwegian international cannot afford to take his foot off the gas - his side are still working to close the gap on Arsenal, but Haaland also only has a three-goal lead on Igor Thiago in the race for the Golden Boot. 

However, Haaland has hit a rich vein of form at the perfect time. He has scored in each of his last three straight league matches, and even bagged a hat-trick against Liverpool in the FA Cup. The 25-year-old has been unstoppable at the Etihad this season, and he has scored in 14 of his 21 starts in front of a home crowd.

He was absent against Brentford in the EFL Cup matchup, but scored the only goal of the game in the league meeting.

Academy graduate Nico O'Reilly has been one of the surprise packages for City this season, and the 21-year-old established himself as a key starter in the big games.

He landed this selection when these sides met in the EFL Cup, as his one shot from distance hit the target. O’Reilly strikes the ball cleanly and does tend to let fly from distance, which could be useful if Brentford tend to sit deep. 

The Englishman is also a massive aerial threat from set-pieces, standing at 6'4. City have been effective at getting to the byline in recent weeks to generate corners, which means O’Reilly should be invited forward on several occasions.

He has scored some massive goals this season already, including a brace against Arsenal in the EFL Cup final, and Pep Guardiola will once again be reliant on the youngster this weekend.

Schade was fouled four times when these sides met in the EFL Cup at the Etihad back in December, and he also drew two fouls in the league meeting before that. The German winger is a very direct player who is always looking to beat his marker.

With Brentford likely to sit deep and rely on quick transitions, Schade should be the focal point of their attacking threat in this match, which means he should regularly be in one-on-one scenarios. Keith Andrews will be relying on Schade to help progress the ball. 

Brentford rank 17th in the Premier League charts this season for total fouls drawn, but Schade has accounted for such a high percentage of those free-kicks. He is averaging 1.48 fouls drawn per 90 this season, which is one of the highest figures in the Brentford squad. 

Man City recorded just five fouls as a team against Everton last time out, and Bernardo Silva blanked on that front, but the Portuguese international has seen a notable uptick in fouls committed when playing at home this season.

In fact, he is averaging 0.76 fouls per 90 on the road this campaign, compared to 1.82 at the Etihad. He has recorded at least one infringement in all 13 of his home starts in the league, and multiple fouls in eight of those. 

With Rodri unavailable due to injury, Silva has been given an even greater defensive burden, which makes this market appeal once again.

He only committed one foul in the EFL Cup encounter against Brentford a few months ago, but it is worth noting that Silva only featured for the final 24 minutes in that match off the bench. 

Jeremy Doku was the difference-maker against Everton last time out, as he opened the scoring for his side, before then scoring the all-important equalising goal deep in stoppage time.

The Belgian international was also fouled seven times in that match, highlighting the problems he was able to cause for the Everton defenders. Jake O’Brien accounted for three of those infringements, and he was shown a yellow card. The Irish international doesn’t usually engage in too many duels, as he prefers to back off, but he was given a really tough evening by Doku. 

Michael Kayode is similar in that sense, as he isn’t too aggressive in his duels. The Italian international is averaging just 0.68 fouls per 90 in the league this season, but that figure looks set to rise this weekend. Doku is averaging 3.2 fouls drawn per 90, and he has been fouled 15 times in his last three league starts alone.