Manchester City vs Brentford Prediction: Hosts to start quickly again

Manchester City are in Carabao Cup action on Wednesday night as they take on Premier League outfit Brentford in the quarter-finals (19:30 GMT, Sky Sports Football). 

City are looking to regain their crown having last won it in 2020/21, and below you can find my Manchester City vs Brentford predictions. 

Team News

Jeremy Doku missed the win over Crystal Palace at the weekend with a leg injury, and he is likely to miss out again given that the extent of his issue is unknown. John Stones is unlikely to be risked in this one, Rodri remains out with a hamstring strain and Mateo Kovacic is a long-term absentee. 

Pep Roulette is therefore likely to be in full force with James Trafford, Rico Lewis, Savinho and Oscar Bobb in line for starts. Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush are both off to the Africa Cup of Nations and unavailable for this one. 

Football Odds

Brentford should welcome Kevin Schade back to the starting XI after he served a suspension against Leeds, while Reiss Nelson could return from his knock to feature having scored against Grimsby Town in the last round. 

Keith Andrews should name a strong side for this fixture, but must decide between cup goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson or Premier League number one Caoimhin Kelleher. Dango Ouattara is off to Afcon with Burkina Faso.

Today's Football Fixtures

Manchester City vs Brentford Odds

Manchester City are the heavy 4/11 favourites to win this game, giving them an implied win probability of 73%. A draw is 4/1 and a Brentford win is 15/2, showing the size of the task facing Keith Andrews’ men. 

Over 2.5 goals is 8/15, BTTS is 4/5 and obviously, Erling Haaland is the favourite to score first at 7/4. 

Manchester City to win with -1 handicap @ 1/1

Man City are flying right now, having won their last five games in all competitions, and they are scoring a lot of goals in the process. They’ve bagged 16 in total during that time period, beaten Real Madrid away in the Champions League, and closed the gap on league leaders Arsenal to just two points. 

City were the dominant force in this competition, winning six of the eight editions between 2013/14 and 2020/21, but they haven’t tasted success since beating Spurs five seasons ago now - and Pep will want to change that. Brentford are a reasonable outfit and have got some good wins in this competition, but when City are in this mood they are almost impossible to stop. 

Over 1.5 first-half goals @ 5/4

Haaland is on fire at the moment, but the price for him to score anytime is unappealing, so instead I’m going to back an entertaining first half at the Etihad Stadium. Man City led 1-0 at HT at Selhurst Park, but prior to that had scored over 1.5 goals in the first 45 in all four of their recent wins. 

Given Brentford should pose a threat of their own early on with Igor Thiago up top, I think the price on over 1.5 goals coming in again is a backable one. 

Football - 2 Up Early Payout

Pre-Match bets on the 2 Up Early Payout market in selected games. Paid as a winner within 5 minutes if your team goes 2 goals ahead. Selected leagues only. 90 mins only. T&Cs Apply.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Offers

Get Turbo Boosted odds on the EFL Cup!

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.