Manchester City and Brentford meet at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening in the first of three EFL Cup quarter finals featuring only Premier League sides.
City booked their place in the last eight with a comfortable 3-1 win over Swansea City, while Brentford had little trouble seeing off Grimsby Town, scoring five times without reply.
Although the EFL Cup may not sit at the very top of Manchester City’s list of priorities alongside the Premier League and Champions League, it is a competition rich in recent history for the club and one Pep Guardiola will be keen to conquer again. City famously won six League Cups between the 2013–14 and 2020–21 seasons, but they have not lifted the trophy since their final victory over Tottenham and have not progressed beyond the quarter final stage in the years that followed.
Reaching the semi finals on Wednesday would be an encouraging sign, especially given that City went on to win the trophy on each of the last six occasions they won a quarter final tie, despite being eliminated at this stage by Southampton in 2022–23. Guardiola has already guided his side past Huddersfield Town and Swansea in this season’s competition, and City arrive in strong form, having won their last five matches across all competitions.
Their recent 3-0 league win over Crystal Palace was more convincing on the scoreboard than in open play, as Palace wasted several good chances, but City were ruthless when opportunities arose. That efficiency has kept them firmly in the title race as Arsenal’s closest challengers, and they have won nine of their last ten home matches, with the only defeat coming in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen.
Brentford’s route to the quarter finals has been more demanding. Under Keith Andrews, they knocked out Bournemouth and Aston Villa before being rewarded with a kinder draw against Grimsby Town, where five different players got on the scoresheet in an emphatic away win.
Still chasing their first major trophy, Brentford have now reached the League Cup quarter finals for the fourth time in six seasons, although last year’s run ended at this same stage against eventual winners Newcastle United. The club has only reached the semi finals once before, losing to Tottenham in 2021, and history suggests another deep run will be difficult.
The Bees come into this tie without a win in their last three matches, most recently drawing 1-1 at home with newly promoted Leeds United in a game where the visitors created far more chances. Their away form is also a concern, having lost four consecutive matches on the road while conceding at least two goals in each. To make matters harder, Manchester City are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Brentford, including a 1-0 league win in October.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Manchester City arrived at Selhurst Park on Sunday without Jeremy Doku in the squad, a surprise that Guardiola later explained by revealing the Belgian winger was carrying a leg injury. Doku has since been ruled out for the next two to three weeks.
John Stones is also not yet ready to return as he continues to recover from a thigh issue, while Rodri’s hamstring problem is expected to keep him sidelined until later in the month. Mateo Kovacic is facing a much longer spell out, with his calcified ankle injury likely to take several months to fully heal.
Despite facing Premier League opposition at this stage of the competition, Guardiola is unlikely to shy away from rotation and could hand opportunities to players such as Savinho, Oscar Bobb, Rico Lewis and James Trafford. City will also be without Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait Nouri, who are set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Brentford, meanwhile, will receive a welcome boost as Kevin Schade returns to the squad after serving a suspension that kept him out of the draw with Leeds. There is less positive news regarding Reiss Nelson, who is still struggling with a knock and will miss out alongside long term absentees Josh Dasilva, Antoni Milambo and Fabio Carvalho, all sidelined with knee injuries.
With no European fixtures to contend with, Andrews is expected to name a strong starting eleven, although he faces a difficult decision in goal between sticking with cup keeper Hakon Valdimarsson or turning to first choice Caoimhin Kelleher. Brentford will also be without two players heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, as Dango Ouattara prepares to represent Burkina Faso and Frank Onyeka joins the Nigeria squad.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Lewis, Khusanov, Ake, O'Reilly; Reijnders, Silva; Bobb, Cherki, Savinho; Haaland
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Valdimarsson; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Henry; Henderson, Yarmoliuk; Schade, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Thiago
EXPERT PREDICTION
Manchester 3-1 Brentford
