Manchester City have turned their form around in recent weeks, but Pep Guardiola says nothing is guaranteed as he expects a tough test against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

City, who are sixth in the league table, have won their last three games on the bounce in all competitions, having won just one of their 13 beforehand.

Guardiola's side followed up back-to-back Premier League wins with an 8-0 thrashing of Salford City in the FA Cup on Saturday, but the Spaniard insisted they still had something to prove despite those results.

"Of course, we won three games. Before, it was impossible to win one and now, we won three. That helps us," Guardiola said.

"But the reality is, we won against a team from League Two. For many reasons, we should win. We did it quite well but still we have to wait to see if we are who we are.

"The mood is better. We have an enormously difficult game. Thomas [Frank] and [Brentford] always create a lot of problems.  They are a fantastic, fantastic team."

Brentford, meanwhile, have won just one of their last seven games in all competitions, though their 5-0 victory over Southampton last time out in the Premier League halted a four-match winless run in the top-flight.

Prior to that, their unbeaten league home streak was ended by a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal before they were stunned by Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Thomas Frank has been handed an injury boost though, with long-term absentee Rico Henry returning against Plymouth, and the Dane confirmed he would be in the squad to face City.

"I'm very, very pleased that Rico is back. He's been one of our best players in the four years in the Premier League," Frank said.

"It will take a little bit of time before we see him fully firing. That's not me saying he can't start or play a Premier League game, but consistent high performances will take a little bit of time to build.

"But he will be involved in the squad, and it's up to me to find out how much I can use him. It's unlikely he will start; it's still a building process."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brentford – Mikkel Damsgaard

Only Mohamed Salah (13) and Bukayo Saka (10) have provided more Premier League assists this season than Brentford's Mikkel Damsgaard (seven).

Meanwhile, the only Brentford player to provide more in a single campaign than Damsgaard is Bryan Mbeumo in 2022-23 (eight).

Manchester City – Savinho

Savinho has been involved in four goals in his last two Premier League appearances for Man City (one goal, three assists), twice as many as he had in his first 15 (two assists). Each of his last four assists in the competition have been for Erling Haaland.

MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER CITY WIN

Man City have won their last two Premier League games, having won just one of their previous nine in the competition (D2 L6).

In the four Premier League games in which City have conceded against Brentford, it has been the opening goal of the game. Indeed, Yoane Wissa gave the Bees the lead after just 22 seconds in the reverse fixture.

Brentford have lost more Premier League games having scored the first goal than any other side this season (five), while Manchester City have won the most games having conceded first in the competition this term (four).

Having won six of their first seven Premier League home games this season – earning more home points than any other side in the process – Brentford have now lost their last two at the Gtech Community Stadium. Only in October/November 2021 have they lost three in a row in the competition.

Unfortunately for Brentford, they have kept just one clean sheet in their seven Premier League games against City (W2 L5), doing so in a 1-0 home victory in May 2023.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Brentford – 23.3%

Draw – 23.2%

Manchester City – 53.5%