Manchester City welcome Brentford to the Etihad on Wednesday night in the quarter finals of the EFL Cup.
Manchester City have reached the quarter finals of the League Cup thanks to a pair of away wins against lower league Huddersfield Town and Swansea City.
Pep Guardiola’s men continued their pursuit of Premier League leaders Arsenal at the weekend, as they claimed a 0-3 victory away at FA Cup holders Crystal Palace.
The Citizens have now won each of their last four and nine of their past 11 Premier League encounters to move within two points of the Gunners.
Brentford’s path to the quarter finals of the League Cup was a bit more difficult compared to their hosts, as they won away at Bournemouth and at home to Aston Villa on penalties, before cruising to a 0-5 victory over giant-killers Grimsby Town in the last round.
Keith Andrews’s men travel to the Etihad in the midst of a three-game winless run in the Premier League, as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to newly-promoted Leeds United at the weekend.
The Bees have struggled on their travels in the Premier League this season, losing seven of their eight road trips, with their solitary success coming at 18th-placed West Ham United.
How the bookies view it: City clear favourites
Unsurprisingly, Manchester City are priced up as clear favourites to advance to the semi-finals, as they are 2/9 at bet365 to qualify.
Bet365 have Brentford as 3/1 underdogs to reach the semi-finals.
Head to head: Five unbeaten for City
Manchester City are unbeaten in each of their previous five meetings with Brentford, winning four of them (W4-D1-L0), including a 0-1 success at the Gtech at the beginning of October.
Players to watch: Foden to find the target again?
Phil Foden has been in fine form for Manchester City in recent weeks, finding the back of the net in four of his last five appearances for Manchester City, scoring six goals.
The England international has also scored four goals in his last four appearances against Brentford, and the 13/8 on offer for him to find the target on Wednesday night appeals to me.
Think you’ve found odds that look too good to be true? Explore our Value Betting guide and learn when a price is genuinely favourable.
Predicted line-ups
Manchester City will still be without the injured midfield duo of Rodri and Mateo Kovacic, whilst John Stones and Jeremy Doku are doubts.
Brentford will be missing Josh Dasilva, Antoni Milambo and Fabio Carvalho due to injury, but Kevin Schade returns from suspension.
Manchester City: Trafford, Nunes, Khusanov, Ake, Ait-Nouri, Bobb, Reijnders, Cherki, Foden, Savinho, Marmoush
Brentford: Kelleher, Kayode, Collins, van den Berg, Hickey, Henderson, Janelt, Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade, Thiago
Anything else catch the eye?
Manchester City will likely rotate on Wednesday night, but given the quality of depth at their disposal, I fully expect them to get the job done against their poor-travelling visitors.
Pep Guardiola’s hosts are just 19/50 to win inside 90 minutes, but you can boost those odds to 17/20 if you throw in Over 2.5 Goals, which appeals to me.
Over 2.5 Goals has landed in each of Manchester City’s last nine wins in all competitions, as well as in six of their previous seven Premier League encounters at the Etihad.
GambleAware
Marmoush and Ait-Nouri have gone to African cup of Nations, no?