Brentford vs Liverpool

Brentford Community Stadium plays host to the first-ever Premier League encounter between competition debutants Brentford and evergreen fixture Liverpool.

It’s fair to say that Brentford have defied every expectation this season, as they enter this round sitting in the top half of the table after losing just one of their first five Premier League matches (W2, D2). An impressive 2-0 away win over Wolverhampton last time out followed by a 7-0 thrashing over lower-league outfit Oldham in the Carabao Cup midweek fills Brentford with confidence ahead of this meeting. But after losing their last four competitive H2Hs by an aggregate score of 14-2, the ‘Bees’ will have to produce something special to avoid suffering back-to-back league defeats at home since December 2018. Bringing the 2020/21 season into the equation, none of Brentford’s last eight home games in all competitions have ended as a draw (W7, L1), with 75% of them seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet.

As for Liverpool, they are flying high early in the season, having won four of their opening five Premier League fixtures (D1). Remarkably, except for a 1-1 home draw with bitter rivals Chelsea on Matchday 3, the ‘Reds’ have won their remaining four top-flight matches by 2+ goals ‘to nil,’ leading 1-0 at half-time on each occasion. Jurgen Klopp’s men have won five consecutive Premier League matches away from home by an aggregate score of 15-3, including a hat-trick of 3-0 victories in their last three league trips. Another 3+ goal margin win would see Liverpool equal the all-time Premier League record of four straight such triumphs, set by the ‘Reds’ themselves in December 2017. Notably, the visitors have lost just one of their last 27 top-flight meetings with newly-promoted sides (W22, D4).