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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 38
Brentford v Manchester City
Gtech Community Stadium
London, England
Sunday, 28 May 2023
Kick-off is at 17h30
Manchester City are aiming to reach the 90-point mark for the third time in the
Premier League era when they face Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday, May 28.
The Citizens secured a third straight league title after beating Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium last Sunday to open up an unassailable seven-point lead over Arsenal going into the final week of the season.
The Gunners saw their faint championship hopes dashed with a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground last Saturday, having already lost at Brighton six days earlier to hand the advantage to City.
Pep Guardiola's side registered their 12th win on the spin as part of a 15-match unbeaten run to give the Spaniard his fifth title in seven years at the club.
The Bees are set to improve on their 13th-placed finish as debutants last season, with a 3-1 victory over Tottenham in North London last Saturday ensuring a spot in the top half of the table.
Thomas Frank's team are guaranteed at least ninth position after Fulham (10th) were held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace (11th) last weekend to leave them four points behind their West London rivals going into the final round of fixtures.
Brentford could finish as high as seventh as they trail Spurs (8th) by one point and Aston Villa (7th) by two, although they will be hard-pressed to repeat their heroics of November 12 when they triumphed 2-1 over City away from home in the reverse fixture.
Bryan Mbeumo scored in that game and he will be looking to do the same in front of the home fans after bagging four goals in his last five outings. The Cameroonian winger has played a key role for the Bees this term, starting all but one of their 37 matches and coming off the bench in the other, while contributing nine goals and seven assists.
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Julian Alvarez was handed his 12th start of the campaign against the Blues and made a telling contribution, scoring the winner in the 12th minute to get the party started at the Etihad Stadium. The Argentine World Cup winner is now just one goal shy of reaching double figures in his debut season in England.
In team news, Frank must do without Ivan Toney (suspension), Pontus Jansson (thigh), Keane Lewis-Potter (knee) and Christian Norgaard (calf), while Nathan Ake (thigh) is a slight injury doubt for Guardiola.
Brentford were dealt a massive blow in the lead-up to their clash with Spurs after Ivan Toney received an eight-month ban for betting breaches, although Frank believes there is enough quality in his squad to fill the large void.
"We've already talked about (Ivan). To replace 20 goals in the Premier League is not easy but we actually have good players in the squad that can score goals and every single time [Yoane] Wissa is playing instead of Ivan he scores goals.
"He did that today and Kevin [Schade], he will score goals because he is such a threat going in behind. Of course the big praise is to Bryan [Mbeumo] today. He is growing more and more to be a key player for us."
Guardiola insisted it was important for his players to celebrate their title win ahead of crunch encounters against Manchester United in the FA Cup final and Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final.
"I have been so demanding in this period," the Spaniard said. "The players have to celebrate otherwise it makes no sense. We will arrive with time to rest mentally for the two finals against United and Inter.
"We have to play two more games. I said enjoy it but be careful because we will destruct what we have done in these competitions. Now I have the feeling that all of us are a little bit tired because it's been a long season.
"Now it's the tendency to think it's done. Still we have tough game at Brighton and Brentford, hopefully it can pass quick and then we have seven days to prepare United and Inter."
Head-to-Head (Previous Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 3
Brentford - 1
Man City - 2
Draws - 0
Matchday 38 fixtures:
Sunday, May 28
17h30: Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers
17h30: Aston Villa v Brighton & Hove Albion
17h30: Brentford v Manchester City
17h30: Chelsea v Newcastle United
17h30: Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest
17h30: Everton v Bournemouth
17h30: Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur
17h30: Leicester City v West Ham United
17h30: Manchester United v Fulham
17h30: Southampton v Liverpool
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