Brentford vs Liverpool preview: Kickoff time, team news, how to stream | football news
Liverpool manager Arne Slott says the Premier League leaders will face tough tests ahead ahead of the Brentford trip.
Who: brentford vs liverpool
What: English Premier League
Where: GTech Community Stadium, London, United Kingdom
When?: Saturday 3pm (15:00 GMT).
Follow Al Jazeera’s live build-up and then watch our text and photo stream of the match.
Arne Slot says the second half of the season will be even tougher than the first as he aims to secure a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title for Liverpool in his debut campaign at Anfield.
The Reds, who travel to Brentford on Saturday, have been the outstanding team in England and Europe this season, losing just two of their 31 matches in all competitions.
Slott’s side are four points clear of second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League, while their London hosts, who drew 2-2 with Manchester City this week, have the joint-highest number of home wins in the league this season. Equal with Arsenal and Liverpool on seven.
“This season, perhaps more than every other season, shows the strength of every single team that is in the league,” Slott said in a pre-match press conference on Friday.
“Even yesterday evening, I think it was quite amazing to see Southampton go toe-to-toe with (Manchester) United,” Slott said after the Red Devils came back from a goal down to beat the Saints 3-1. Added in context. old Trafford.
Slott added, “It shows you that it’s even harder to win your games in the second half of the season than it is in the first half of the season.” “Teams stay together for a long time. Managers are working longer hours with the team. You’ve already played against each other once, so there may be a different game plan. Some teams bring players to strengthen the team, and teams are trying to enter Europe, win the league, and stay in the league.
Matchweek 21 complete ✅
Matchweek 22 starts tomorrow… pic.twitter.com/GvBjHlZ2Wy– Premier League (@premierleague) 17 January 2025
Brentford were the opponents in the slot’s first home league game in August – a match Liverpool won 2–0.
“I already thought, ‘If we get the same resistance every week, this is a more difficult league than the Eredivisie,’ which I knew before I arrived, but it was also proven that day,” he said. . ,
The Dutchman said Liverpool, who have drawn their last two games, were not paying attention to the Premier League table “every second of the day”.
Diogo Jota is doubtful to face Brentford after reporting discomfort following a goalscoring cameo performance in the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest in midweek.
Slott ignored suggestions that another forward, Darwin Nunez, was struggling with confidence.
The Uruguayan, who doesn’t start often, has scored just four goals in 26 matches in all competitions this season.
“For me, this is the life of a striker. Sometimes you score. Sometimes you don’t do that,” Slott said. “And he hasn’t started every single game.
“The most important thing for me is that as a team we were able to score in every single game except against Tottenham One (in the League Cup) and (Nottingham Forest earlier in the season).
“So that tells me we have a lot of goals in our team. Darwin will score his goals, as he has already done for this club, and he will continue to do so. But I don’t see him struggling that much.”
brentford team news
Rico Henry and Ben Mee are both in the starting line-up after returning to the bench for the Bees’ match with Manchester City on Tuesday. Henry was introduced as a late substitute in the 2–2 draw. There are no other new injury concerns for the Londoners.
liverpool team news
Jota is the main focus for Liverpool ahead of the match. Nunez is returning from a one-match ban while Luis Diaz is expected to be fit despite missing training on Thursday due to illness.
head to head
Brentford’s last win against Liverpool came two years ago and was their first against the Reds since 1938. The Reds have won the most recent four fixtures and scored 17 goals in all seven meetings between the two sides since the English top flight was reformed. Premier League. In four of these matches, the bees have failed to find the net.
Ready for more? pic.twitter.com/9phiZwcJZs
– Premier League (@premierleague) 17 January 2025
