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If Manchester City beat Brentford 3-0 at home on Saturday, they will go back to the top of the Premier League standings, albeit temporarily.

Meanwhile, the Bees need a win over the current league champions if they want to be in the top half of the standings going into the World Cup break.
Man City have clearly liked playing at home as they have won their last 16 home games in all competitions dating back to April, while scoring a whopping 61 goals.

Second-half goals from Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez gave Manchester City a 2-0 victory against Chelsea in the third round of the EFL Cup, after last weekend's dramatic 2-1 Premier League triumph with 10 men against Fulham.

Having been handed a fourth-round home draw against Liverpool in the FA Cup, Pep Guardiola's squad will return to Premier League action this weekend with their fourth consecutive home encounter, their penultimate before a six-week break for the World Cup.

Even though they have won seven of their last eight Premier League games, Manchester City is still two points behind league leaders Arsenal. In order to finish the weekend in first place, Man City needs to beat Brentford and hope that Arsenal loses at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday night.

Given that Guardiola and company won both meetings with Brentford last season, 2-0, without allowing a single goal, they should feel confident heading into this matchup. Despite having 10 opportunities to do so, City has never beaten the Bees in a league series more than twice in a row.

Brentford was eliminated from the EFL Cup on Tuesday night by League Two side Gillingham, following last weekend's poor 2-2 away draw at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

In the dying minutes, Mikael Mandron scored to cancel out Ivan Toney's third-minute opening, and the visitors held on for a penalty shootout, where the eventual game-winner was decided when Mikkel Damsgaard struck the crossbar after 11 straight attempts.

Thomas Frank's team has lost eight of their past nine matches in all competitions, with the lone victory coming in a 2-0 home victory against Brighton Hove Albion in the middle of October.

Brentford are now in 11th position in the Premier League rankings with only three victories to their name after 14 matches, and it will be difficult for them to go into the World Cup break on a good note against the defending top-flight winners.

The Bees are looking for their first road win over Man City since a 2-0 victory on Christmas Day in 1937, when they had less than 24% possession in both games.