Manchester City v Brentford LIVE: Premier League score and goal updates as Oscar Bobb starts

2 mins: Decent start by Brentford as they get down the left and pump a ball into the box but City’s defence deal with it. High press from Brentford to try and win the ball back, so City go long.

And we’re underway in Manchester. A big game in the Premier League title race.

The teams are out and we’re not far away from kick-off now. Can Brentford spring a shock and throw a cat among the title race pigeons

A reminder of the teams this evening, which includes Oscar Bobb getting his first Premier League start for Man City.

Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji; Rodri, Bernardo; Foden, Alvarez, Bobb; Haaland

Brentford XI: Flekken; Ajer, Zanka, Mee; Roerslev, Onyeka, Norgaard, Janelt, Reguilon; Toney, Wissa

A reminder that tonight’s match is not on TV in the UK and here’s why.

The game wasn’t selected for TV coverage in the UK in December and was scheduled to be a 3pm Saturday kick-off, which is why it is not available to watch this evening even though it has now been moved to a midweek evening slot.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

A couple of starts ahead of this evening’s game, courtesy of Opta.

• Man City are unbeaten in their last 47 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) games at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League (W41 D6) since a 0-1 defeat to Tottenham in May 2010. They have won 26 of their last 27 such fixtures (D1), including each of their last 12 in a row.

• After Manchester City won 3-1 in the reverse meeting earlier this month, Man City v Brentford could become only the third instance of one team beating another twice in the same calendar month in the Premier League, with both of the previous two being achieved by Arsenal (v Bolton in January 2010 and v Wolves in February 2022).

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has backed Phil Foden as the England player most likely to be crowned Ballon d’Or winner.

The 23-year-old scored a hat-trick in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Brentford earlier this month and the Bees manager was wary of a repeat showing ahead of Tuesday’s meeting between the sides at the Etihad Stadium.

Brentford were the last team to beat the defending Premier League champions at their Etihad home, Ivan Toney scoring the late winner in a 2-1 triumph in November 2022.

And they briefly led Pep Guardiola’s side again at the Gtech Stadium 14 days ago before Foden took over to steal the show with three well-taken strikes.

With 15 goals in 35 games so far in all competitions Foden is one short of his best scoring season for City and has featured in all but one of their league games this term.

Guardiola made the comment in a press conference in December 2022 having left the City and England midfielder out of a Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool.

Phillips, who joined West Ham on loan in January, earlier this month told the Observer that “after the World Cup was probably the toughest, when Pep came out and said I was overweight”, adding: “I did not disagree with him but obviously I took a big knock on my confidence and how I felt at City.”

Guardiola was asked at a press conference on Monday if he regretted going public about Phillips’ weight, and he said: “Yeah, I’m sorry. Once in eight years is not bad. But I’m so sorry. I apologise to him. I do apologise. I’m sorry.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has stressed he is “more than satisfied” with what he is seeing from his team.

Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium, secured by Rodri’s late equaliser, brought an 11-match winning run in all competitions to an end for City.

The defending champions are third in the table, two points behind second-placed Arsenal and four behind leaders Liverpool ahead of playing their game in hand when hosting Brentford this evening.

When others go backwards, Kevin De Bruyne looks forwards. It can be a description of his passing, a risk-taker often eschewing the safe option in a quest to create. But it is true positionally, too: last season De Bruyne noted that, in the latter years of their careers, many an attack-minded midfielder has retreated into a deeper role.

It was the case with Steven Gerrard, who went from a No 10 to a No 6. Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas were often found nearer the base of the midfield than the tip in their footballing dotage. Christian Eriksen spends more time nearer his own penalty box than he used to. Wayne Rooney was the forward who tried to reinvent himself as a midfielder.

Then there is De Bruyne, the midfielder who has become a quasi-forward, the No 10 who could double up as a No 6. Not any more. Pep Guardiola has ruled out using him as a more defensive midfielder. “No,” he said. “He has to be in the final third. He is not there to defend deeper. I want Kevin in the final third because his huge talent is there.”

Read Senior Football Writer Richard Jolly’s full analysis of the issues in Man City’s midfield: