Liverpool vs Brentford

Third-placed Liverpool will be looking to get back to winning ways in the Premier League when they meet bottom-half Brentford at Anfield.

Without standout forwards Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool could only manage an uneventful 0-0 draw with Arsenal in midweek Carabao Cup action. Back to the Premier League, where they trail leaders Manchester City by 11 points, albeit with a game in hand, the ‘Reds’ will look to break a run of three matches without winning (D2, L1) and keep their faint hopes of clutching away the title alive. Despite an always-growing list of problems, Liverpool will call upon their impressive home record against the Premier League debutants, having lost once in their last 17 clashes against such opposition at Anfield (W11, D5), keeping 12 clean sheets in the process. Moreover, Jurgen Klopp’s men are unbeaten in 13 Premier League matches at home (W9, D4), winning the last four in a row by an aggregate score of 12-1.

On the other hand, Brentford have experienced mixed fortunes at the beginning of the new calendar year (W1, L1), meaning none of their last five Premier League outings have ended as a draw (W2, L3). Since back-to-back wins at Wolves and West Ham in September/October, the ‘Bees’ have gone winless in their last six away league games (D2, L4), conceding 2+ goals on each occasion. Another tough weekend is seemingly lying ahead of Brentford, who have lost their last five competitive visits to Anfield by an aggregate score of 12-1. However, they can draw confidence from a spirited performance that earned them a 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture back in September. Conceding first would significantly lower the visitors’ chances of staging an upset here, considering they’ve failed to win any of the six Premier League away matches when shipping the opener this term (D2, L4).