Pep Guardiola says Manchester City have no option but to continue pushing and see what happens in the Premier League title race, ahead of Saturday's meeting with Brentford.

The title race is in Arsenal's hands after City drew 3-3 with Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday, with the Opta supercomputer now assigning the Gunners an 86.4% chance of becoming champions of England for the first time since 2004. 

Jeremy Doku scored two stunning goals on Merseyside, but the second of those only salvaged a point deep into stoppage time after Everton fought from behind to lead. 

City have now dropped 17 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, their most in a single campaign since 2008-09 (20).

Twelve of those points have been dropped in 2026, the joint-most of any side this year along with Newcastle United and Tottenham.

Brentford visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, when anything less than three points would surely end City's title dreams – Arsenal visit relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday.

"It was in our hands before the [Everton] game but now it's not," Guardiola said. "We will prepare for Brentford. We will continue and see what happens."

Reflecting on City losing control of a game they led 1-0 with 68 minutes gone, Guardiola added: "When you score and have the momentum, you have to win the game, given the situation and how many games we have left.

"You make some decisions a little rushed, which is normal because of the emotions, but at the same time, without that emotion you cannot come back. If you give up, you cannot do what we have done."

Brentford remain in contention for European qualification, having thrashed West Ham 3-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium last Saturday.

Josh Dasilva came off the bench late on in that game, having been sidelined by a knee injury since January 2024, and the midfielder was emotional when reflecting on his comeback.

"I'm speechless," said Dasilva. "There are so many emotions. I waited so long for this.

"Since I've been here, the fans and the club have shared a lot of special moments with me. The loyalty the fans have shown me as a player has been amazing.

"Having the summer we had, a lot of people wrote us off, so for the boys to be performing at the level they are sums up the culture from the top to bottom."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester City – Jeremy Doku

Doku salvaged a point with his stoppage-time strike against Everton on Monday, and City will hope their Belgian speedster can have a major impact again on Saturday.

All 50 of Doku's chances created in the Premier League this season have been from open play – the most chances created by any player without any coming from set pieces.

Brentford – Igor Thiago 

Thiago, who is still chasing Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race, has scored 22 goals from 79 shots in the Premier League this season, a conversion rate of 27.9%. 

Of the 67 players to have scored 20+ in a season since 2003-04, only four players have had a better conversion rate than the Brazilian.

MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER CITY WIN

Having lost their first Premier League home match of the season, 2-0 against Tottenham, City are unbeaten in their last 15 at the Etihad (W12 D3), scoring at least twice in 13 of those 15 games.

However, although they have only failed to score in one of their nine Premier League games against Brentford, City’s average of 1.4 goals per game against the Bees (13 in 9) is their lowest against any opponent they have faced under Guardiola.

Brentford won 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium back in November 2022, though they have lost on each of their other three visits to Man City in the Premier League.

City have conceded the first goal in just five different Premier League games this season. The only side to do so fewer in a single campaign are the Citizens themselves (three in 2018-19).

Only Liverpool (19) have scored more goals in the final 15 minutes of Premier League games than Brentford (18) this season, however, so there could be a few nerves among the home fans if City do not pull clear early on.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Manchester City – 67.8%

Brentford – 15%

Draw – 17.2%