Man City Clash with Brentford in High-Stakes Carabao Cup Showdown: Team News, Bold Predictions and Starting XI Revealed
Manchester City faces Brentford at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening in a crucial Carabao Cup quarterfinal encounter.
The Citizens have claimed the Carabao Cup trophy four times during Pep Guardiola's tenure, though they haven't progressed past the quarterfinal stage since their last victory in 2021. Following a disappointing season without silverware last year, they're determined to return to Wembley's winner's circle.
City approaches their quarterfinal tie in excellent form, with their weekend triumph over Crystal Palace extending their winning streak to five consecutive matches across all competitions. They'll be favored to make it six straight wins against a Brentford team that has managed just one victory in their previous five outings.
Brentford's poor away form makes overcoming City at home an enormous challenge—the Bees have suffered defeat in seven of their eight Premier League road trips—and they've already fallen to City this season, losing 1–0 at the Gtech Community Stadium in early October.
Here's Sports Illustrated's match preview.
What Time Does Man City vs. Brentford Kick-Off?
Man City vs. Brentford Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (All Competitions)
Man City | Brentford |
|---|---|
Crystal Palace 0–3 Man City - 14/12/25 | Brentford 1–1 Leeds - 14/12/25 |
Real Madrid 1–2 Man City - 10/12/25 | Tottenham 2–0 Brentford - 06/12/25 |
Man City 3–0 Sunderland - 06/12/25 | Arsenal 2–0 Brentford - 03/12/25 |
Fulham 4–5 Man City - 02/12/25 | Brentford 3–1 Burnley - 29/11/25 |
Man City 3–2 Leeds - 29/11/25 | Brighton 2–1 Brentford - 22/11/25 |
How to Watch Man City vs. Brentford on TV, Live Stream
Country | TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Ultra HD, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra, NOW TV |
United States | Paramount+ |
Canada | DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada |
Mexico | Disney+ Premium Mexico |
Man City Team News
Guardiola is likely to rotate his squad from the Palace victory, though several key players remain unavailable for selection.
Rodri and Mateo Kovačić continue their absence from midfield and are accompanied by John Stones on the sidelines, while Jérémy Doku missed the Selhurst Park win due to a leg problem. The Belgian's availability for this match remains uncertain.
Guardiola will also be missing Omar Marmoush and Rayan Aït-Nouri for the Brentford fixture and upcoming matches as both players have left for the Africa Cup of Nations to represent Egypt and Algeria respectively.
Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Brentford
Man City predicted lineup vs. Brentford (4-1-4-1): Trafford; Lewis, Khusanov, Aké, Gvardiol; González; Bobb, Silva, Reijnders, Savinho; Haaland.
Brentford Team News
Keith Andrews is similarly dealing with international departures, as Dango Ouattara and Frank Onyeka have both traveled to AFCON. Brentford's injury list features Fábio Carvalho, Joshua Dasilva and Anotni Milambo, while Reiss Nelson's participation remains questionable.
Brentford will regain Kevin Schade, who sat out the weekend stalemate with Leeds United due to suspension. The German forward, along with Igor Thiago and Mikkel Damsgaard, will be crucial in breaking down a rotated City defense.
Brentford Predicted Lineup vs. Man City
Brentford predicted lineup vs. Man City (3-5-2): Kelleher; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg; Kayode, Yarmolyuk, Henderson; Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Thiago, Schade.
Man City vs. Brentford Score Prediction
Even with significant squad rotation, City should secure their semifinal berth with a convincing victory, particularly with the prolific Erling Haaland expected to spearhead the attack following Marmoush's departure.
Brentford might trouble a reshuffled City backline, but they've failed to find the net in three of their last four away matches and consistently struggle when playing away from home. An upset appears highly unlikely.