Brentford vs Man City LIVE: Premier League score and updates as ...

There were reports in Spain last week that Haaland dislikes life in Manchester so much that he wants to leave the club.

Perhaps inevitably, it was suggested Real Madrid were monitoring the prolific Norway striker’s situation.

The suspicion at City is that this could have been an attempt by Madrid-leaning media to unsettle the 23-year-old and edge him towards the Bernabeu Stadium.

Ederson also spoke about the Premier League title race and believes that three possible teams, Liverpool, Arsenal and City themselves, can win the title.

“The team is focused, all of the players have their feet on the ground,” he explained. “They’re giving their all every day, preparing in the best way to be ready for the next match. I think that the most important thing is mentality, humility of the group.

“Training well every day, putting the effort in, dedicating yourself, and of course respecting the manager’s decisions.

“I think that we have a great dressing room, with young players who like to work hard, to dedicate themselves to the maximum. When it’s time to joke we joke, when it’s time to work we work hard.

“I think that the title race is between Liverpool, City and Arsenal, I think they are the three favourites to win the Premier League.”

Manchester City’s Ederson says he is thrilled that Kevin De Bruyne has returned to the team following a prolonged spell on the sidelines and he is confident the Belgian will be a key figure in City’s fight for a fourth consecutive Premier League title.

“It’s just like chess – you have to protect the king [De Bruyne]! Now we have our ‘king’ back, one of the best assisters in Premier League history, third in the list now,” said Ederson.

“We’re so happy to have him back and playing good football, especially after such a long time out. He’s a player that our team missed a lot because he has such ability – he finds passes that very few players can find.

“He gets assists, scores goals, plays good football, he keeps the ball, so I’m very happy that he’s back and that he has returned to his high level.

“I hope that he can help us a lot for the rest of the season, not only him, but the whole group.”

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank said that he is satisfied with the Bees’ business in January especially as the club managed to keep hold of Ivan Toney.

“I was pretty sure, and I said from the beginning, that I thought Ivan will stay with us, so I was not worried about that,” said the Brentford boss, “But in general, it’s nice to know what you’re working with.

“At the end of the day, we decide if players can leave or not. Of course, money talks. And we also know that we are a selling club.

“It’s part of our strategy that we bring young, talented players in. We develop them, make them better, they come on a journey with us and improve.

“Hopefully they do some fantastic stuff in the league, maybe one day win something, and then after some years, if they are good enough, they can progress to the next level.”

Pep Guardiola hopes John Stones can now start to put a run of games together after what has been a frustrating season to date.

The England centre-back, who shone in a hybrid defence-midfield role in Manchester City’s treble-winning campaign last season, has made only 11 appearances this term.

He missed 12 games at the start of the season with a hip problem and then picked up a muscular injury in November that sidelined him for another month.

His return from that setback then proved shortlived as he hurt his ankle at former club Everton in December, not featuring again until last Wednesday’s Premier League victory over Burnley.

Brentford are in terrible form despite the return of Ivan Toney who has scored in both Premier League matches he’s played since his gambling ban ended. The Bees have lost six of their last seven league games and now take on the current champions who have not been beaten since a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in December.

City are boosted by the returns of Manuel Akanji and Erling Haaland and with Liverpool dropping points against Arsenal yesterday they will want to take their chance to close the gap on the league leaders.

Brentford 1-3 Manchester City.

Aaron Hickey and Rico Henry remain absent for Brentford, with Sergio Reguilon’s availability therefore useful after the Spanish full-back missed the midweek defeat to Tottenham, his parent club.

Kevin Schade and Bryan Mbeumo are also sidelined, while Yoanne Wissa, Frank Onyeka and Saman Ghoddos remain on international duty.

Pep Guardiola has a fully fit squad from which to choose, with Manchester City boosted by the recent returns of Jeremy Doku, Manuel Akanji and Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian striker may make his first start after overcoming his foot issue having returned from the bench against Burnley.

Predicted line-ups

Brentford XI: Flekken; Collins, Mee, Pinnock; Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen, Norgaard, Reguilon; Toney, Maupay

Manchester City XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Ake; Rodri; Foden, De Bruyne, Silva, Grealish; Haaland.

Brentford vs Manchester City is due to kick off at 8pm GMT on Monday 5 February at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage due to start at 6.30pm GMT. Subscribers can also stream the action via Sky Go.

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Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Premier League action as Brentford host Manchester City.

The Bees are hoping to distance themselves away from the relegation zone but have a difficult job on their hands if they want to take points away from City this evening. Thomas Frank’s men are currently three points ahead of Everton, who sit 18th, and any possible points from tonight’s encounter will be a bonus.

For their part, Manchester City are hunting down Liverpool who sit top of the table. Pep Guardiola’s men have two games in hand, including tonight’s fixture, and will close the gap on the Reds to two points if they triumph this evening.

We’ll have all the team news, line-ups and latest updates so stick around as we build up to kick off at 8pm.