Manchester City v Brentford – Stats and Facts

Manchester City welcome Brentford to Manchester on Wednesday evening as they look for a further three points that will strengthen their place at the top of the Premier League. The blues will go back to twelve points clear of Liverpool should they overcome the Bees, with the Mersey Reds having two games in hand.

They meet a Brentford side who have lost their last four Premier League matches and were dumped out of the FA Cup by Everton at the weekend, and all the stats indicate that it could be another defeat for the London side (on paper anyway).

Wednesday’s match will be only the seventh time these two have met in Manchester and only their fourth ever league meeting. The blues have won all but one of their previous six matches against the Bees, with the only defeat being a 2-0 loss at Maine Road on Christmas Day 1937. That was the last time these two met in the league when both were a top-flight team.

The last time they met in the league, City ran out 4-0 winners in October 1950 in a second division match, while their last meeting at Maine Road was in the League Cup Second Round Second Leg at Maine Road. The blues had lost the first leg 2-1 at Griffin Park but turned the tie around at Maine Road with a 4-1 win.

City have only failed to score once at home to Brentford but have also kept just one clean sheet in this fixture. The blues have scored eighteen times in six matches, an average of three goals per game, while Brentford have managed six (I think the average there is pretty obvious).

If the match follows that pattern, the blues should technically win 3-1. Will it happen?