Brentford boss Thomas Frank is ready to test himself against Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

Defending champions City will head south top of the table after the 6-3 Boxing Day thriller against Leicester made it nine league wins in a row but Frank warned his injury-hit side are not daunted by the challenge.

"We're playing against the team in the division with potentially the biggest budget, definitely one of them, and I think the greatest manager of the modern era," he said.

"Definitely unbelievable players and a very good, specific style of play that makes it quite difficult for a team like us to try to get something out of it because they are so good at keeping the ball.

"They almost never risk it - of course you can do a little bit of a counter - so it's going to be very difficult.

"(Guardiola's) a very innovative coach, always tweaking the positions. The way they build up from behind and the way they keep the ball and the breakthroughs, it's something I've been studying for years.

"It's difficult to copy, you need decent players, but it's nice to get inspiration from that."