Man City vs Brentford LIVE: Team news and Rodri latest as hosts look to keep pressure on Arsenal in Premier League title race

More from Guardiola who explained that Foden’s return against Everton went well.

“He had good minutes and movements against Everton,” said the City boss.

“We talk about it. Phil, what is your biggest quality as a player? Turn and go and attack the box, don’t lose that.

“He is not a player to control the game. Your quality is being a machine to attack the ball with a sense of assist and goals.

“It happened two or three times against Everton in a tough moment when we were one or two down, it’s not easy but he did really well.”

“I said many times, there’s no doubts about Phil [Foden] and his impact,” said Pep Guardiola in Friday’s press conference.

He added: “He’s a homegrown player from the Academy who’s been massively important in our seasons together.

“I wish from the bottom of my heart he can come back and play his best years with us and help to continue the team to be what it deserves to be.”

It is the second consecutive year that the Premier League has earned an additional spot, with the English top flight at the top of the European Performance Standings (EPS) after its clubs reached the final of all three European competitions.

Jordan Henderson is set to have some involvement in a significant boost for Brentford. Vitaly Janelt is also nearing a return, but Rico Henry is not ready yet.

Predicted Brentford XI: Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Hickey; Jensen, Yarmolyuk; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Thiago.

Manchester City remain without Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, though both are nearing a return, and Rodri continues to battle a groin problem. Mateo Kovacic may come into Pep Guardiola’s starting midfield.

Predicted Manchester City XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Kovacic, Silva; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.

A live stream will be available via Sky Go and NOW.

Manchester City vs Brentford is due to kick off at 5.30pm BST on Saturday 9 May at the Etihad Stadium.

Though they salvaged a draw at the last, two dropped points against Everton could be costly for Pep Guardiola’s side with their rivals now five points clear at the top of the table.

While Manchester City still have a game in hand, they will need Arsenal to slip up and must take care of their own business against a visiting team with plenty to play for themselves.

Brentford appear to be battling with Bournemouth and Brighton for sixth place and a success here would be a significant boost to their chances.

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s Premier League clash between Manchester City and Brentford.

There’s plenty at stake as the two teams compete this afternoon with Man City still battling for the title and Brentford aiming to finish inside the European places.

We’ll have all the team news, line-ups and updates throughout the afternoon so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 5.30pm.