Brentford host Manchester City in the Premier League on Wednesday evening in the first meeting between the clubs this millennium.
City are one of only two Premier League sides yet to have a match postponed this season, ploughing through the festive calendar with an attacking ruthlessness that has seen them rattle in 17 goals across their last three games.
Brentford have only scored 21 Premier League goals all season. The Bees had 12 days between fixtures in the middle of December but the visit of City will be a third game in seven days for a side littered with injuries and absences.
How to watch Brentford vs Man City on TV/live stream
When is kick off? Tuesday 28 December, 20:15 (GMT)
Where is the match being played? Brentford Community Stadium
TV channel/live stream? Amazon Prime Video (UK), fubo TV (US), DAZN (Canada)
Highlights? Sky Sports Football YouTube
Referee? David Coote
VAR? Jarred Gillett
Brentford team news
Bryan Mbeumo limped off in the first half of Brentford's 2-0 defeat to Brighton on Boxing Day, joining a raft of players already residing in the Bees treatment room.
First-choice goalkeeper David Raya and the club's record arrival Kristoffer Ajer are to set to have their long-term absences extended for at least another game. Mads Roerslev may well be available after recovering from Covid-19 but is unlikely to be involved from the off while Vitaly Janelt only recently tested positive, ruling him out entirely.
Rico Henry missed his first league game of the season on Sunday with a tight hamstring that will sideline him for the midweek run out. Fellow defender Charlie Goode is also hampered by a strain in the same area.
Christian Norgaard's one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation is the cherry on top of a calamitous cake.
You can read Brentford's predicted lineup here.
Man City team news
Despite their uninterrupted workload, City have largely been spared a spate of injuries. Although, Rodri represents the biggest loss from the base of midfield.
John Stones and Kyle Walker also missed Sunday's 6-3 victory over Leicester City but the squad is deep enough that Aymeric Laporte and Joao Cancelo respectively filled in.
You can read Man City's predicted lineup here.
Brentford vs Man City head-to-head record
The most recent of Brentford and Manchester City's 13 meetings came in 1997, an FA Cup tie that Wednesday's visitors won. The last time the pair met in a league game George VI was King of England - Brentford claimed the spoils on that occasion in March 1951.
Incidentally, their last top flight meeting also took place around the festive period as the duo duked out on Christmas Day 1937 and again 48 hours later - Brentford won both.
Brentford vs Man City score prediction
Thomas Frank's plucky promotion winners bloodied the nose of Liverpool and created far better chances than Chelsea in their previous meetings with the division's elite, but welcome the table toppers far from full strength.
Brentford's 48-year-old coach succinctly laid out the likely game plan for Wednesday.
"Games against teams that are better than you, you need to defend very well and nail that low block. Then you need to counter," Frank explained, before summarising with an altogether undermining conclusion.
"We normally do well in the low block but we are facing the best team in the world against the low block."
While Brentford will hardly be waving the white flag, City come into the contest as favourites - as they would against most teams on the continent, let alone the division's lowest wage bill.
Prediction: Brentford 0-2 Man City
Source : 90min