Brentford vs Liverpool

Liverpool’s Premier League title credentials face a potential banana skin as they head to the Gtech Community Stadium to meet Brentford.

Brentford somewhat steamrolled to a 2-0 victory at Wolverhampton last weekend to open up a six-point gap on the Premier League bottom three following a dreadful run of seven defeats in their eight prior league matches (W1). But under-pressure manager Thomas Frank isn’t out of the woods yet as the Bees entertain a Liverpool side they’ve lost to in their last two top-flight H2Hs without scoring. You’d expect the home comforts of the Gtech Community Stadium would offer Brentford some respite, but after losing three of their last four home league matches (W1), there’s not much reason for optimism. But connoisseurs of action-packed football will look forward to this fixture as each of those four games saw over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring.

As for Liverpool, last weekend’s 3-1 thumping of Burnley was a firm response to a 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on their previous Premier League travel, keeping them narrowly above their closest title rivals. But with Arsenal and Manchester City only two points behind, Jurgen Klopp’s men can’t afford a slip-up on Brentford’s home ground, where they’ve failed to win both previous top-flight H2Hs (D1, L1). Since they’ve not kept a clean sheet in their last five domestic outings, defensive frailties could prove a setback, though they’ve been devastating in front of goal, drawing a blank just twice in their last 47 matches across all competitions. Topically, the Reds had scored 2+ goals on four consecutive Premier League travels before being held to a single strike at the Emirates.