Former Liverpool and Brighton star Mark Lawrenson has shared his predictions for this weekend’s Premier League fixtures, foreseeing a comfortable victory for Manchester City over Brentford.
City will visit the Gtech Community Stadium on Monday to take on the Bees, aiming to secure their fifth consecutive top-flight win as they chase down the league leaders, Liverpool, who are currently five points ahead. With a game in hand, a win on Monday would allow City to maintain pressure at the top.
In contrast, Brentford finds themselves hovering near the relegation zone in 15th place, having accumulated just 22 points from 21 games. The West London side has endured a challenging run of form, losing six of their last seven league matches, including a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in their recent outing on Wednesday, January 31.
Lawrenson, now a respected pundit, acknowledged Brentford’s tendency to perform well against other London teams. However, facing a City side bolstered by the return of key players like Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, he believes the visitors are primed for victory.
In his column for Paddy Power, Lawrenson stated:
“Brentford clearly don’t like other London teams, as we saw in that feisty game with Spurs in the week! They think everyone looks down on them, which is why they’re at it when they play the other London teams. But this is Manchester City coming to town with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland both back fit, so you have to back an away win.”
He concluded his prediction with a forecast of a 2-0 victory for Manchester City.