Sky Blue News: Match Preview, Bad Bunny, World Cup Call-ups, and More...

Manchester City are headed for one last showdown before the World Cup break. Saturday, Brentford visit the Etihad. Sky Blue News has all the latest to get you ready for the weekend. Up first, a juicy rumour.

Manchester City have initial discussions to sign Jude Bellingham - Saikat Chatterjee - The Hard Tackle

The Premier League champions recently signed Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund, and they will hope to use their existing relationship with German club to secure a deal for Bellingham as well. The 19-year-old England international has the potential to develop into one of the best midfielders of his generation, and Manchester City could certainly use someone like him.

German international midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is nearing the end of his contract at the Premier League club, and Manchester City will need to find a quality long-term replacement. Bellingham will be the ideal signing for them, and the player can sort out their midfield for the foreseeable future.

Bellingham is already a key player for Borussia Dortmund and has proven his worth with England at the international level as well. The player is rumoured to have a price tag of around €150 million and Borussia Dortmund will hope that he can perform at a high level during the World Cup, which can only boost the asking price.

Manchester City v Brentford - The Opposition - Manc Pete - Bitter and Blue

Brentford are enjoying a similar season to last year. After 14 games last year, the team were 12th in the league with four wins, four draws and six defeats, with 16 points to their name. Not bad for the new boys. This season, they have managed to turn two of those defeats and one win into draws but, strangely enough, The Bees have exactly the same number of points, yet are one place better off in 11th.

A win for Brentford on Saturday could send them up to seventh in the league. Potentially, they could make eighth, however that would require a monumental effort while also relying on the teams around them to lose. If Liverpool lose 1-0 Brentford would need to beat the blues by around 12 clear goals. Let’s just stick to them overtaking Fulham and Palace!

But winning at City will be a difficult enough task, never mind trying to win 12-0. Brentford haven’t won in four league matches, five if you count the 1-1 League Cup draw with Gillingham. Their last outing was a 2-2 draw at Forest which followed a 1-1 home draw with Wolves. Prior to that, they were hammered 4-0 at Aston Villa and 5-1 at Newcastle, with a 2-0 home win over Brighton sandwiched in between.

CITY LEARN CARABAO CUP ROUND FOUR OPPONENTS - Sam Cox - ManCity.com

Last season, we were denied winning the cup for five consecutive seasons as we exited on penalties to West Ham at the same stage as we face the Reds.

The meeting with Jurgen Klopp’s side is a repeat of the 2016 final, where we edged past the Merseyside club on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Round Four will be played in the week commencing 19 December and will be the first domestic action after the World Cup finals.

Manchester pair win Barclays Women’s Super League awards for October - Wilf Frith - She Kicks

Notching braces in wins over Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, the 25-year-old also found the back of the net in a 2-1 win over Liverpool at the Academy Stadium alongside turning provider for Hayley Raso to score the winner against the Merseyside outfit.

The forward saw off competition from Manchester United duo Mary Earps and Leah Galton, West Ham’s Dagny Brynjarsdottir, Chelsea’s Lauren James and Arsenal’s Frida Maanum for the accolade.

Shaw said: “I am delighted to win this award for the first time – it has been a very successful month for us as a team and I am grateful to everyone who voted for me in a very talented shortlist of players.

“We are feeling so confident after these recent wins and I am really enjoying my football right now personally, but the most important thing is results and helping the team to have as much success as possible.

BREAKING: 5 City Players Named in England World Cup Squad - CITYZENDuck - Bitter and Blue

England manager has named 5 Manchester City players in the England squad heading for World Cup 2022 in Qatar this month. Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, John Stones, Kyle Walker, and Kalvin Phillips will all be joining up with the Three Lions as they compete for the most sought-after prize in football.

According to David Clayton of ManCity.com:

Though Foden, Stones and Grealish were expected to be included by Gareth Southgate, both Phillips and Walker faced a race against time to make the cut.

Phillips underwent a shoulder operation in September and only returned to action in Wednesday evening’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Chelsea.

The former Leeds United man impressed during his second-half cameo and admitted afterwards that he was hopeful of going to Qatar.

DE BRUYNE CONFIRMED IN BELGIUM WORLD CUP SQUAD - David Clayton - ManCity.com

Our brilliant playmaker will be integral to Roberto Martinez’s plans in Qatar where a successful tournament could see KDB reach the 100 caps milestone.

He is currently on 93 caps for the Red Devils and has scored 25 goals.

Belgium are in Group F along with Croatia, Canada and Morocco and will be attempting to win the World Cup for the first time.

Three Man City stars learn World Cup fate as Portgual name squad - Daniel Murphy - Manchester Evening News

Thursday has been a good day for City stars’ World Cup dreams after Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, John Stones, Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker all made the England squad while captain Ilkay Gundogan was called up by Germany with the tournament just over a week away.

Now, Bernardo, Cancelo and Dias have all secured their sports in Qatar after they were named in Fernando Santos’ squad, with all three certain to be starters.

While Dias hasn’t been a regular in Pep Guardiola’s starting XI this season, Cancelo and Bernardo have been in excellent form and will be looking to replicate those performances for their country.

Portugal are in Group H in the competition which will see them come up against Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea. They get their tournament underway against the African nation on Thursday, November 24.

Sergio Aguero insists Arsenal have strong enough squad to beat Manchester City to Premier League title - Louis Sealy - Metro

And finally... Aguero is not dismissing Arsenal’s chances of mounting a real run at the title.

The Gunners’ form under Mikel Arteta has seen Arsenal move two points clear of Manchester City and 11 points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United.

Despite this, there is a feeling that Arsenal could fall away once they start to encounter injury issues due to the perceived lack of depth in Arteta’s squad.

But Aguero – who won five Premier Leagues at the Etihad – believes Arsenal’s squad is strong enough to win the title.

He told Stake: ‘Arsenal have had a great performance in this stretch and Man City, despite the setback against Liverpool, remain close. We’ll see what happens after the World Cup.

‘Arsenal have a deep squad. More than anything because they know what style they want to play and it shows that they are hungry for triumphs.

Photo by Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

There you have it Cityzens. Have a wonderful Friday, and keep checking with Bitter and Blue for all the latest ahead of matchday 16 in the Premier League.