Our tipster’s also got Brentford racking up the cards on Saturday evening.
Manchester City host Brentford on Saturday evening, and while they’ll obviously be huge favourites, the Citizens will still go into it reflecting on a massive opportunity missed in the Premier League title race, when they only just managed to snatch a point from Everton with the final kick.
Prior to that we’d seen Pep Guardiola’s men give up a 1-0 lead to trail 3-1, with dreadful defending responsible for all three goals, rather than any real skill from a combative and spirited Everton team.
The destination of the Premier League trophy now rests solely in Arsenal’s hands, and as their remaining games are against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace, a lot of people are assuming they’ll grab it, and end 22 years of waiting for a league title.
With the two remaining realistic contenders for the golden boot – Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago – set to face off under the merciless glare of Sky’s cameras in an interesting side plot, here are PP tipster Andrew Beasley‘s five picks for Manchester City vs Brentford.
Man City v Brentford Bet Builder tips
Brentford (+2)
Both Teams to Score: Yes
Erling Haaland 3+ Shots on Target
Over 10.5 Corners
Brentford Over 2.5 Cards
A Bet Builder with these selections pays approximately 20/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
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*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
WHEN: Saturday, May 9th, 5.30pm
WHERE: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
TV: Sky Sports Main Event/Premier League
Brentford (+2)
City are expected to fight until the end, but Brentford could deliver a coup-de grace to their title hopes, having proven sticky opponents in the past.
Indeed, while City have enjoyed a strong H2H record since the Bees’ promotion in 2021 (W6, D1, L2), almost every match has been close, with just two of those games seeing City win by a margin of multiple goals.
No team that has been in the top flight consistently for the previous five seasons has suffered fewer such defeats to Pep’s boys.
City are not in sparkling form either – their 3-0 victory against an utterly abysmal Chelsea is the only handicap-beating win they’ve posted across their previous eight league matches.
Meanwhile, Brentford have played ten games against teams that will start the weekend above them in the table. Just one – a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal – was by more than a single goal, so as likely as it feels that City will win here, it should be tight.
We therefore take Brentford in the Alternative Handicaps 1 market. They get a two-goal head start so if the result is no worse than one in City’s favour, we’re all good.
Both Teams to Score: Yes
It seems very unlikely that the home side won’t score, even if they don’t run riot.
The only Premier League match in which the Cityzens drew a blank against the Bees occurred on the final day of the 2022/23 season – when the title was in the bag, and they had a Champions League final on the horizon.
Their first home game of this season was the only one in which they failed to score at the Etihad too. A 1-0 City win would fulfil our first bet, though, so can we expect Brentford to score?
It’s not a given, as they’ve failed to score in six away matches this term. But on the flipside of the argument, Brentford have netted at Old Trafford and Villa Park before now.
Big grounds evidently don’t scare the Bees – just ask Thiago after his Hill-Dickinson hat trick against Everton in January! In turn we’re backing both teams to score.
Erling Haaland 3+ Shots on Target
If City are to dig their way out of their title race hole, then much will depend on Erling Haaland. There’s certainly no lack of positivity from the Norwegian in this fixture, as he has four goals in six games against Brentford, with three of the strikes occurring at the Etihad.
The obvious problem is that the odds for Haaland are super skinny, as you would expect, and there’s better value elsewhere, hence the selection we’ve gone for instead.
While Haaland only had one attempt on target in the previous meeting – albeit scoring from it, naturally – he had at least three in the three prior clashes with Brentford. The big Norwegian has also hit this mark in nine home games so far during 2025/26, doing so against the likes of Real Madrid, Dortmund, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Over 10.5 Corners
Every Premier League game these teams have played in Manchester has featured at least 11 corners. One of their matches at Brentford saw 21 – a tally that’s only been topped five times in a Premier League game across the last seven seasons!
Brentford Over 2.5 Cards
If Brentford are to keep this game close, they will have to battle, and while they’ve proven good at that this season, they are unlikely to get away with a physical approach with Michael Salisbury in charge.
Among the 15 referees who’ve overseen at least 11 Premier League matches in 2025/26, only one has a higher yellow cards per game rate than Mr Salisbury. In addition, the Bees have collected at least three bookings in three of the previous six meetings.
Man City v Brentford Bet Builder tips
Brentford (+2)
Both Teams to Score: Yes
Erling Haaland 3+ Shots on Target
Over 10.5 Corners
Brentford Over 2.5 Cards
A Bet Builder with these selections pays approximately 20/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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