- Three key battles could decide Manchester City vs Brentford
- Pep Guardiola’s men are five points adrift of Arsenal
- Erling Haaland could have a huge say on matters
Ahead of Manchester City’s upcoming clash against Brentford, three key battles could play a huge role in deciding the result.
Pep Guardiola expects Brentford to test Manchester City, considering Keith Andrews’ side sit in seventh place in the Premier League table this season.
Furthermore, Manchester City only beat Brentford 1-0 the last time the two sides met at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Pep Guardiola will be hoping that his City side win their battles and put the pressure on Arsenal to clinch three points against West Ham United on Sunday.
Michael Kayode vs Gianluigi Donnarumma
One of Brentford’s biggest weapons this campaign has been Michael Kayode’s dangerous long throws.
Gianluigi Donnarumma struggles during set-piece situations and in Manchester City’s latest 3-3 draw against Everton, he came out to punch the ball out of danger but failed to do so, allowing Jake O’Brien to head the ball into an empty net.
While Donnarumma dealt with Kayode’s long throws well in both sides’ previous meeting, Brentford could capitalise on arguably the biggest flaw in the Italian’s game on the weekend.
Donnarumma is a top shotstopper but from set-piece situations, he has a tendency of trying to stop everything that comes his way instead of simply focusing on where the ball lands. As a result, Kayode’s long throws could cause havoc inside Manchester City’s box.
Erling Haaland vs Sepp van den Berg
The last time Manchester City and Brentford locked horns with each other, a certain Erling Haaland dominated Sepp van den Berg physically before thumping the ball into the back of the net.
After the contest, Haaland told Sky Sports that Van den Berg’s aggressive approach motivated him to boss the Dutchman.
The Norwegian said via Manchester City’s official website: “First five minutes, he just kept on pushing me so I said alright, let’s have it. So then I started pushing him back.”
With Haaland in the Golden Boot race with Igor Thiago, the added motivation of beating the Brazilian to the prestigious award could push him to have another field day against the Brentford centre-back.
Nico Gonzalez vs Mikkel Damgsgaard
Considering Mikel Damgsaard is his side’s primary creator, while also being adept at beating his man and ghosting into dangerous areas in the final third, the Dane could really put Nico Gonzalez to the test.
Nico struggled against Everton in midfield and keeping in mind that Rodri’s availability against Brentford remains a question mark, the former could be City’s weak link as he looks rusty after barely getting a look-in for ages.
Pep Guardiola will be hoping that the former Porto star returns to his brilliant best against the Bees as his Manchester City virtually cannot afford any more slip-ups in the Premier League title race.
