EFL Cup: City Are Set to Swat Some Bees

Manchester City vs Brentford

EFL Cup action is back on the agenda this week, and all eyes will be on the Etihad Stadium where Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City welcome Keith Andrews’ Brentford.    

The Sky Blues made it through to the quarter finals with a 2-0 victory in Huddersfield and then a 3-1 win away to Swansea City and, after a rare trophy-less campaign in 2024/25, they are hungry for silverware. Meanwhile, Brentford have put together an impressive set of EFL Cup 2025 results, beating Bournemouth and high-flying Aston Villa in rounds two and three, before hammering Grimsby Town, the conquerors of Manchester United, 5-0.    

The hosts come into the game on the back of a 3-0 win away to Crystal Palace while the Bees played out a 1-1 draw at home to Leeds United, and I expect the Citizens to pick up another victory on Wednesday.     

 

Talking Points

City are becoming relentless

Crystal Palace away is never an easy fixture to deal with, and the Sky Blues certainly didn’t have it all their own way at Selhurst Park on Saturday, but they left with a 3-0 win and that is the sort of result that champions collect. After giving their all in a spectacular Champions League victory away to Real Madrid, which took a lot out of his team, Guardiola was pleased with the endeavour of his men, though they had the woodwork to thank, twice, for their clean sheet.

And it is quite ominous that the in form Phil Foden was on the score sheet again, while Erling Haaland helped himself to a brace to make it 17 for the season in the Premier League. It seems that City’s period of transition has come to an end and the next generation is ready to make their mark. They have gone on a winning run and still have midfield ace Rodri to come back, while Mateo Kovacic is facing a longer absence.

Guardiola will shuffle his pack for the visit of Brentford and I can see one or both Foden and Haaland starting on the bench, though their natural replacements, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait Nouri are off to the African Cup of Nations. Savinho could be the man to drop in, while the game will probably come too soon for Jeremy Doku.        

At the time of writing the EFL Cup 2025 betting odds put favourites Arsenal slightly ahead of Manchester City but, the way the Sky Blues have been motoring recently, it’s beginning to look like Guardiola is preparing to open the trophy cabinet again. And he has a deep enough squad to cope with absentees and a busy fixture schedule, with competition for places breeding that winning mentality.     

 

Ouattara is off to AFCON

While City have a couple of players heading to AFCON, the Bees are in the same boat and they will be without their key man for the next few weeks, with record summer signing Dango Ouattara heading off to Africa to represent Burkina Faso. The Bees shelled out £42.5m on the forward and he is their most potent goal threat, though Kevin Schade is set to step back in after he was suspended for the draw with Leeds United. 

Midfielder Frank Onyeka is also on his way to AFCON to represent Nigeria and the Bees will be without Fabio Carvalho while Reiss Nelson is also doubtful.

This is a testing time for Brentford who are doing well to keep clear of the Premier League drop zone, as well as thriving in the EFL Cup. But recent 2-0 losses away to Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal suggest that a team with a top class squad will be out of reach for the Bees. 

 

History

While Brentford are looking for their first major trophy since winning the Second Division championship back in 1935, Manchester City are serial trophy collectors and have won this competition eight times, most recently back in 2021. The Sky Blues have failed to reach the last four since then and will be determined to put that right on Wednesday. 

Over the last 22 meetings Brentford have had quite some success with seven wins to City’s 13 and there have been two draws, though the last time they met in the League Cup the Sky Blues ran out 4-1 winners on their home turf.       

In terms of recent form Manchester City have won their last five games while Brentford have won one, drawn one and lost three in that time. 

 

Betting Tip

The Sky Blues are heavily odds on, at a SBOTOP price of 1.30 to win, with the Draw at 4.75 and a Brentford victory at 7.50. City are on a great run for form and will be hard to live with, and I’m backing the hosts to match Arsenal’s recent effort against the Bees.

   

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.