League leaders Manchester City host slumping Brentford at the Etihad stadium for this matchday 24 Premier League encounter. The visitors have now lost five matches on the trot after suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat to Everton, knocking them out of the FA Cup in the fourth round. Brentford still hold a comfortable eight point cushion over the relegation zone and it’s extremely unlikely the Bees pick up points here, facing the best team in England at the moment. With a nine point lead over second place Liverpool, Manchester City look set to win their fourth league title in the last five years - a testament to the work Guardiola has done during his time at the club. City hold a record of 18 wins, three draws and two defeats and are coming off a 4-1 win over Fulham in the FA Cup. Their last league match was a 1-1 draw against Southampton, a result which snapped an incredible league winning streak of 12 matches. Guardiola’s men are likely to get back on track here and come into this match as massive favorites.
With such a steep price to bet on the hosts, there isn’t a lot of value that exists on playing the winners market. Instead we will turn our attention towards the goals totals. Manchester City have the best defensive record in the league this season, only conceding 14 goals in 23 matches. This improves even further when playing at home as the Citizens have kept eight clean sheets in their 11 home matches. The visitors are likely to struggle finding the net in this match considering their poor run of form and their overall middle of the pack offensive production when playing away from home. Brentford are likely to bunker down in this match and attempt to frustrate City, an approach that visiting teams often take given the sheer attacking talent at the defending champions disposal.