Coming off an inspired comeback draw against Manchester City, Brentford looks to continue punching above their weights and shock Premier League leaders Liverpool in the mouth-watering clash at the weekend.
The Bees are aiming to climb up to the European places in the Premier League table and face a Liverpool side who are winless in the last two league games. With seven wins in nine games at the Gtech Community Stadium, Thomas Frank’s side are a formidable challenge at home turf and collected 23 of their 28 points this season in the Premier League (so far) have come thanks to their heroics at home.
Liverpool, however, are unbeaten in away Premier League games and are extremely hungry for a win in a league game. Arne Slot’s side realizes the importance of getting back to winning ways for them to extend their lead at the summit of the league table.
With Brentford being a fearless unit at home, who don’t water down their attacking approach for any team, this should be a thrilling end-to-end battle in which the more clinical unit comes out on top.
Last 5 Matches
Brentford showed a lot of heart in managing to come back from being 2-0 down against Manchester City in their last game to scratch out a 2-2 draw. The Bees have, although gone through a bit of a rough patch since the Christmas period that has caused them fall down in the Premier League table. In the last five league games, Brentford have just one win and are desperate for three points.
Liverpool are not exactly firing on all cylinders in what has been a tricky start to 2025 for them. They have drawn their last two matches in the league, having to come back from losing positions in both of them. Arne Slot’s side does have three wins in the last five Premier League clashes and will look to regain their winning momentum against Brentford.
Brentford: 10th
Draw: 2-2 vs Manchester City
Win: 5-0 vs Southampton
Loss: 3-1 vs Arsenal
Draw: 0-0 vs Brighton
Loss: 2-0 vs Nottingham Forest
Liverpool: 1st
Draw: 1-1 vs Nottingham Forest
Draw: 2-2 vs Manchester United
Win: 5-0 vs West Ham United
Win: 3-1 vs Leicester City
Win: 6-3 vs Tottenham Hotspur
Team News
Brentford’s shaky recent form has coincided with an injury crisis that has limited Thomas Frank’s selection. The Bees have a plethora of injury absentees that have noto helped their case at all. The likes of Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer, Aaron Hickey, Igor Rodrigues, Gustavo Gomes, Ryan Levitt and Joshua D’Silva are all out of action.
Liverpool are without defender Joe Gomez, who sustained an injury in their 5-0 thrashing of West Ham United. Darwin Nunez, however, will be back into contention against Brentford after srerving out a suspension in the last game.
Probable Lineups
Brentford
Mark Flekken (GK), Mads Roerslev, Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg, Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt, Christian Norgaard, Mathias Jensen, Bryan Mbeumo, Kevin Schade, Yoane Wissa
Liverpool
Alisson (GK), Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Kostas Tsimikas, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota
Head to Head
The two teams have faced off against each other a total of 22 times in their history. The Reds have loved facing off against Brentford, having won on 14 of those occasions and only losing four times to the Bees.
The last encounter between Liverpool and Brentford happened towards the beginning of the 2024/25 Premier League season. The Reds came out on top in rather comfortable fashion with a 2-0 win, thanks to goals in each half from Luis Diaz and Mo Salah.
Brentford’s last win over Liverpool actually came in the 2022-23 Premier League season at the Gtech Community Stadium. Thomas Frank’s side ran riot against the Reds, getting a 3-1 win in a game that witnessed an Ibrahim Konate goal as well as Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo getting among the goals.
The Reds got their revenge against Brentford for that win in the same campaign, getting a gritty 1-0 win at Anfield later on.
Where will the game be decided?
The biggest concern for Brentford since the Christmas period has been their leaky defence, as they’ve conceded five goals in their last three Premier League games. They also have the worst defensive record (most goals conceded) for any team in the Premier League top-10.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have scored the most goals (48) for any team in the Premier League and have a devasting frontline. Brentford know that one lapse in judgement can result in disaster.
But with the Bees being a brave attacking unit at home, they will take the fight to Liverpool. This should be a back-and-forth encounter, filled with counter-attack and swift transitions. The result will all depend on whichever frontline is more prolific and also on how strong the defenders can be when it comes to defending against fast counter-attacks.
Key Stats
- The average number of goals in meetings between Brentford and Liverpool is 3.
- 19% of Liverpool’s goals in the 2024/25 Premier League season have come in the 31-45 minute mark.
- Mohamed Salah is dominating the goal contributions charts with 15 goals and 13 assists in the Premier League this season.
- Bryan Mbeumo is Brentford’s highest goal-scorer with 13 goals in the Premier League.
- On average, Brentford scores 2.14 goals when playing at home in the league, while Liverpool averages 2.37 goals per game.
Predictions
Expect Brentford to give the Premier League leaders a run for their money in this one. Brentford have been excellent at home this season and even showed their fighting spirit with the draw against Manchester City.
Liverpool might be going through a shaky patch, but their sheer depth and attacking quality could be too hot to handle for Brentford. The Bees could face it too difficult to keep the likes of Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo and the in-form Diogo Jota quiet and the Reds should scrape this because of their frontline’s quality.
Our prediction: Brentford 1-3 Liverpool
Odds
Brentford to win: 4.75/1
Draw: 3.5/1
Liverpool to win: 0.52/1
The odds are strictly tilted towards a Liverpool win. Their 0.52/1 odds gives them a 65.8% probability to get the win, which means betting £1 on their win will fetch £1.52 with a £0.52 profit if it happens. Brentford’s 4.75/1 only gives them a 17.4% probability, and if you bet £1 on their win and it happens, you’d get a £5.75 return.
Anytime goal-scorer
Mo Salah: 20/21
Diogo Jota: 6/4
Bryan Mbeumo: 13/5
Both Teams to score
Yes: 0.74/1
No: 1.48/1
Total Goals by Brentford
Over 0.5: 0.35/1
Over 1.5: 1.65/1
Under 0.5: 1.9/1
Under 1.5: 0.41/1
Total Goals by Liverpool
Over 1.5: 0.35/1
Over 2.5: 1.15/1
Under 0.5: 6.5/1
Under 1.5: 1.9/1
- By UniBet. At the time of writing.
Kickoff Time
The match kicks off at 15:00 BST at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday (18 January). Andrew Madley is the referee appointed for the game.
