Anfield gets its first look of Arne Slot’s Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon when the Reds take on Brentford.
A spritely Ipswich Town made life tough for Slot’s side on the Dutchman’s Premier League bow last weekend, but the 2019/20 champions moved through the gears in the second half and cruised to an impressive 2-0 victory.
The signs have been overwhelmingly positive for the new manager, who’s continuing to work with the same set of players who were at Jurgen Klopp’s disposal during his last dance on Merseyside.
Liverpool have offloaded a couple of stars to Sunday’s opponents, with Brentford still yet to oversee the sale of Ivan Toney. While there have been plenty of concerns over the club’s recruitment, Thomas Frank guided the Bees to an opening weekend win over Crystal Palace last Sunday. Their record at Anfield is dire, though, with Brentford yet to score a Premier League goal at Liverpool’s fortress.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Liverpool and Brentford’s clash on Sunday.
Liverpool vs Brentford H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Liverpool |
Brentford |
|---|---|
|
Ipswich Town 0-2 Liverpool – 17/08/24 |
Brentford 2-1 Crystal Palace – 18/08/24 |
|
Liverpool 0-0 Las Palmas – 11/08/24 |
Brentford 4-4 Wolfsburg – 09/08/24 |
|
Liverpool 4-1 Sevilla – 11/08/24 |
Watford 1-1 Brentford – 03/08/24 |
|
Liverpool 3-0 Man Utd – 04/08/24 |
Estrela Amadora 3-1 Brentford – 30/07/24 |
|
Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal – 01/08/24 |
Benfica 1-1 Brentford – 25/07/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra |
|
United States |
fuboTV, Peacock, Telemundo |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
There are no notable injury concerns for Slot at the start of his tenure, although Jarell Quansah is said to be a doubt for Sunday’s game with a muscle complaint.
The defender was withdrawn at half-time against Ipswich due to a duelling issue, with Ibrahima Konate replacing him. The Frenchman should partner Virgil van Dijk at Anfield.
Konate’s inclusion is expected to be the only change from Slot’s first Premier League XI. Diogo Jota should beat out Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo for the starting berth up top.
Liverpool predicted lineup vs Brentford (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Diaz.
Brentford have dipped their toe into the Liverpool well a couple of times this summer. After signing Fabio Carvalho for £27.5m, the Bees have also brought in defender Sepp van den Berg. Both are expected to be available to face their former club this weekend.
Frank was coy on the status of striker Toney for Sunday’s game, with the Brentford boss failing to confirm whether the striker, who continues to be linked with a move away, will feature at Anfield.
The visitors will be without injured trio Joshua Dasilva, Igor Thiago and Aaron Hickey.
Brentford predicted lineup vs Liverpool (3-5-2): Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Mee; Roerslev, Norgaard, Jensen, Janelt, Lewis-Potter; Wissa, Mbeumo.
There are a few teething issues for Slot to iron out and Brentford will feel they can gain some control in the middle of the park on Sunday given the problems Ipswich presented the Reds in the first half last week.
The visitors will aim to contain their technically slick hosts before breaking away with their speedsters on the counter-attack. Slot’s structure will be put to the test by the Bees, who are superb in transition, and Alisson may have to bail Liverpool out on occasions.
This won’t be a walk in the park for the Merseyside outfit, but it’s always tough to bet against them at Anfield.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Brentford
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