Man City have a huge chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table as they travel to west London to take on Brentford.
City have won nine games in a row in the league since early November and have opened up a six-point lead ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea at the halfway stage of the season.
Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by Leicester on Tuesday night and Pep Guardiola will be desperate to see his side take full advantage by expanding the gap as they seek to defend their title.
City’s form makes tonight’s fixture look a daunting proposition for Brentford, who have been hit hard by injuries, suspensions and Covid absences.
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Thomas Frank will, nonetheless, be hoping his side can round off a momentous 2021 with another famous evening at their new home.
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1640811800HT: Brentford 0-1 Man City
A decent tussle in west London but a moment of real quality from the champions is the difference at the break.
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45+1 mins: Jensen has been right in the wars. First the referee and now the ball, which hits him right in the face as he scampers out to close down Fernandinho’s strike.
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45 mins: Just a minute to add on…
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43 mins: Ah ha, and there’s the reprisal. Literally, 30 seconds later, Fernandinho’s in a tussle with Jensen and as he goes down, Toney comes over and gives him a little tread on the shin, too.
No card for either, so at least there’s a bit of consistency.
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42 mins: Textbook undercover villainy from Fernandinho. Toney is up duelling against Dias again and is penalised for a foul but that’s not all he gets for his troubles as the Brazilian steams over and treads on his toes.
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39 mins: Jack Grealish has cut a pretty frustrated figure so far. He’s not really been heavily involved as the likes of Foden, De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva have floated around the pitch.
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36 mins: Ivan Toney’s been absolutely superb for Brentford so far, working hard defensively, closing people down, holding the ball up. He’s earned a free-kick in a decent crossing position here, though Jensen leathered one of these straight out for a goal-kick a minute ago.
This one’s better but Ake gets up best and heads against Toney and behind for a goal-kick.
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32 mins: City have dominated possession, up around 80 per cent at last count, but it’s taken that moment of De Bruyne quality to unlock Brentford.
Alvaro Fernandez hasn’t made a save yet.
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28 mins: Good defending, this. Jensen arcs in a menacing delivery from a fairly unpromising crossing position and Jansson has peeled off the back of his man but Fernandinho manages to get a crucial flick on it to send it beyond the Brentford captain and behind.
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25 mins: Brentford aren’t happy here – Mathias Jensen has been accidentally clattered by the referee, who then tells him to get up and doesn’t immediately bother stopping play. Luckily, the ball soon goes back to Ederson anyway and the game can be halted for a moment.
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