Brentford v Liverpool preview: kick-off time, team news, how to stream | Football news
Liverpool manager Arne Slot says ahead of the trip to Brentford that the Premier League leaders face tougher tests ahead.
WHO: Brentford v Liverpool
What: English Premier League
Where: Gtech Community Stadium, London, Great Britain
When: 15:00 (15:00 GMT) on Saturday
Follow Al Jazeera’s live coverage with our text and photo coverage of the match.
Arne Slot says the second half of the season will be even tougher than the first as he aims for a record-equalling 20th Premier League title for Liverpool in his first campaign at Anfield.
The Reds, who travel to Brentford on Saturday, have been the standout side in England and Europe this season, losing just two of their 31 games in all competitions.
Sloto’s side are four points more than the second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League with a game less while the hosts are in London, who drew 2-2 with Manchester City this week, they have the joint-highest number of home wins in the league this season – equal with Arsenal and Liverpool with seven each.
“This season, maybe more than any other season, shows the strength of every single team in the league,” Slott said in Friday’s pregame press conference.
“Even last night, I think it was quite a surprise to see Southampton go up against [Manchester] United,” added Slott, referring to the Red Devils’ recovery from a goal down to beat the Saints 3-1 at Old Trafford.
“It shows you that in the second half of the season, it’s even harder to win games than it was in the first half of the season,” Slott continued. “The teams have been together longer. Managers work longer with the team. You’ve played against each other once before, so maybe there’s a different game plan. Some teams bring in players to strengthen the squad, and teams are fighting to get into Europe, win the league, try to stay in the league.”
Match week 21 completed ✅
Match week 22 starts tomorrow… pic.twitter.com/GvBjHlZ2Wy— Premier League (@premierleague) January 17, 2025
Brentford were the opposition in Slott’s first home league game in August – a game which Liverpool won 2-0.
“I already thought, ‘If this is going to be the resistance we get every week, then this is a tougher league than the Eredivisie,’ which I knew before I came, but it showed that day,” he said. .
The Dutchman said Liverpool, who have drawn their last two games, are not obsessing over the Premier League table “every second of the day”.
Diogo Jota is a doubt to face Brentford after reporting discomfort following his cameo goalscoring performance against Nottingham Forest in 1-1 draw in midweek.
Slot played down suggestions that fellow forward Darwin Nunez is struggling with confidence.
The Uruguayan, who is not a frequent starter, has scored just four goals in 26 appearances in all competitions this season.
“For me, it’s the life of a striker. Sometimes you score. Sometimes not, said Slot. “And he didn’t start every game.
“The most important thing for me is that as a team we managed to score in every game except Tottenham’s [in the League Cup] and [Nottingham Forest earlier in the season].
“It tells me that we have so many goals in our team. Darwin will score his goals, as he has already scored for this club, and will continue to do so. But I don’t see him struggling that much.”
Brentford team news
Rico Henry and Ben Mee are in line to start after returning to the bench for the Bees’ clash with Manchester City on Tuesday. Henry was introduced as a late substitute in the 2-2 draw. The Londoners have no other injury problems.
Liverpool team news
Jota is the main focus of Liverpool before the game. Nunez returns from a one-game suspension, while Luis Diaz is expected to be fit despite missing Thursday’s practice 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 their last four meetings since then and have scored 17 goals in all seven meetings since the English Premier League was reformed into the Premier League. The Bees failed to hit the net in four of those matches.
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