Ivan Toney has warned that he and Neal Maupay are ready to ‘rattle’ Manchester City on Tuesday night.
Brentford will take on the champions at the Etihad a little over two weeks on from their 3-1 home defeat to the same side, which saw Phil Foden score a hat-trick to ensure Pep Guardiola’s side kept up their title chase.
The Bees have found themselves looking over their shoulders rather than up but know they can cause an upset having won 2-1 in last season’s equivalent of Tuesday’s match, with Toney scoring both goals.
The forward has been in fine form since his return from his betting man, partnering Maupay, who has scored three goals in his last five games and ruffled the feathers of a few opponents along the way.
Prior to the match against City, Toney heaped praise on his new strike partner, and insisted that the pair are ready to do damage this week.
Ivan Toney (left) has warned he and Neal Maupay (right) are ready to ‘rattle’ Manchester City
![The pair have formed a formidible partnership up front for the Bees since Toney returned to action from a betting ban](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/09/81478619-0-image-a-2_1708421844157.jpg)
The pair have formed a formidible partnership up front for the Bees since Toney returned to action from a betting ban
![In last season's game at the Etihad, Toney netted a brace in a 2-1 win for the away side](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/09/64473349-0-Toney_put_Brentford_ahead_with_a_superb_header_the_opening_goal_-a-3_1708421848083.jpg)
In last season’s game at the Etihad, Toney netted a brace in a 2-1 win for the away side
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‘It’s good to play next to a striker that knows your game, and I feel like Neal knows that already,’ Toney said via the Evening Standard. ‘I’m just buzzing for him to get his goals recently, because he deserves it.
‘Playing up front with him is interesting. We both know what we need to do to win, and we both know what we need to do to rattle people, to get in people’s heads, and to help win games.
‘When we first started playing together, it was quite an immediate connection. I watched him before I joined the club and, with strike partners, sometimes you just know.’
The pair have scored seven goals between them since Toney returned to action against Nottingham Forest on January 20.
Maupay clashed with James Maddison in Brentford’s defeat to Tottenham earlier this year and later Kyle Walker – who he will face again tonight – after the Man City star claimed Maupay had references his children amid a recent revelation that Walker has been fathering a second child with a different woman to his partner.
![Maupay and Kyle Walker will meet again this evening for the first time since their spat two weeks ago](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/09/81478631-0-image-a-4_1708421859056.jpg)
Maupay and Kyle Walker will meet again this evening for the first time since their spat two weeks ago
![Walker claimed Maupay referenced his personal life after it emerged the defender had fathered a second child with a different woman to his partner](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/09/81478633-0-image-a-6_1708422174145.jpg)
Walker claimed Maupay referenced his personal life after it emerged the defender had fathered a second child with a different woman to his partner
The Frenchman recently claimed he will do all he can to win after becoming one of the most talked-about players in the Premier League, and Toney insisted that he’s not quite the same off-the-pitch.
‘We’re different strikers, so I’ll get stuck in for him and put him in behind, and he knows that when I get the ball, he just has to make the run in behind because I’ll find him,’ Toney added. ‘He’s a nice person as well, we can be around each other and chill, it’s not just an in-work thing.
‘We just clicked straight away. He’s like a little son, I take him under my wing and get him plenty of goals.’