Ederson, Nathan Ake, Aymeric Laporte, Kalvin Phillips, Cole Palmer, Julian Alvarez, and Sergio Gomez all start against the Bees.
Making way are Stefan Ortega Moreno, John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Erling Haaland, Rodrigo, and Bernardo.
All bar De Bruyne, from the seven replaced, are on the bench.
The return of Nathan Ake is a huge boost for the Blues given the magnitude of games coming up.
It’s also a relief to see Foden starting and Stones on the bench after both appeared to have picked up minor knocks against Brighton.
Teams
City: Ederson, Walker (c), Ake, Laporte, Gomez, Phillips, Lewis, Palmer, Foden, Mahrez, Alvarez
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Stones, Gundogan, Haaland, Rodrigo, Bernardo, Charles, Robertson, Knight
Brentford:: Raya, Hickey, Pinnock, Mee, Zanka, Henry, Onyeka, Janelt, Damsgaard, Mbeumo, Wissa
Subs: Strakosha, Schade, Dasilva, Ghoddos, Ajer, Baptiste, Roerslev, Stevens, Trevitt
Probable formation and tactics
You’d expect City to play a 4-3-3 formation this afternoon.
Kyle Walker and Sergio Gomez are likely to play as right and left full-back respectively, with Ake and Aymeric Laporte in central defence.
If that’s the case, Rico Lewis will be given a midfield role - possibly alongside Cole Palmer with Kalvin Phillips taking the anchor role.
That would leave Riyad Mahrez on the right flank and Phil Foden on the left, and Julian Alvarez as the striker.
A Nervous 90?
City will be keen to continue a long unbeaten run of 25 matches in all competitions and with Pep Guardiola insisting there is no foot off the gas against Brighton or Brentford, this will be a competitive game.
The Bees can still finish seventh in the Premier League if results go their way, and you can bet Brentford boss Thomas Frank will have urged his players to give one more mammoth effort to wrap up the campaign.
That kind of scenario is something of a double-edged sword for City.
The effort Brentford will undoubtedly put in will ensure the game is played at pace with a good tempo- and that is what Guardiola wants.
But Brentford play a physical game and the chance of completing a league double over a side going for the Treble will add further spice to this game.
The selection by City suggests the bulk of the starting XI may come from those not beginning today’s game, with possibly two or three berths not decided in Guardiola‘s mind.
The Bees’ season is over after today, but City’s is not, and the most important aspect of today’s game is to get through the game without any injuries.
Guardiola’s men play Manchester United in six days and Inter in 13 days in the FA Cup final and Champions League final respectively.
Having a full strength squad to select from will be key to how the Blues get on in both those showpiece matches.
Stats, facts, and milestones
- Following their 2-1 win at the Etihad in November, Brentford are looking to complete their second ever league double City. They previously did so in 1937-38, but this is just the third campaign in which they’ve met since then.
- City have won five of their six Premier League away games against London sides this season, with the exception being a 1-0 loss at Spurs. Only one team has ever won six away games in the capital in a single campaign in English league history – Liverpool in 1988-89.
- Only two teams have ever done the Premier League double over City in a season where they were crowned champions, with both of them being London clubs – Chelsea in 2013-14 and Tottenham last season.
- Brentford have alternated between victory (2) and defeat (2) in their last four final league matches of a season, losing 2-1 at home to Leeds last term.
- City have won their final league game in eight of the last nine seasons, including each of the last six in a row. Their last such defeat was at home to Norwich in the 2012-13 campaign (2-3).
- This will be City’s 1,000th Premier League game, the 10th team to reach the landmark. Six of the previous nine teams won their milestone game (Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham) with the other three losing (Chelsea, Everton, and Newcastle).
- Brentford have won four of their last five Premier League games (L1), more than they had in their previous 13 combined (W3 D6 L4). The Bees have also lost just one of their last 14 home league games (W7 D6).
- City’s Kevin De Bruyne has been involved in nine goals in his last six final day appearances in the Premier League, scoring three and assisting six. Overall, only Nolberto Solano (7) has more assists on the final day in Premier League history than the Belgian.
- Bryan Mbeumo has been involved in six goals in his last six Premier League games (4 goals, 2 assists), and is looking to score in three consecutive league games for Brentford for the first time since December 2019 (a run of four).
- Erling Haaland has scored five of City’s nine Premier League goals in London this season, the joint most for a City player in a single campaign (Sergio Agüero in 2015-16 and Edin Dzeko in 2011-12 also five).
