Premier League: The Reds are on the Alert of the Buzzing Bees

Liverpool vs Brentford

Liverpool can join Manchester City at the top of the Premier League standings, at least for a few hours, if they manage to beat Brentford this Sunday at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds are on a four-game unbeaten run in the league, but if you count their most recent outing, you would think that they are on a mini-slump right now.

After being held to a 1-1 draw against Luton Town on Monday in one of the most surprising Premier League 2023 results so far this season, Liverpool suffered a 3-2 loss against Toulouse in the Europa League group stage yesterday.

So, they must get back on track fast, but that will be easier said than done because Brentford are back in ninth place at the table with a three-game winning streak (16 points).

Talking Points

Who’s in/out in Liverpool’s starting XI?

It’s been a busy week for the Reds, so Jurgen Klopp had to rotate his squad.

Against the Hatters, Klopp fielded arguably his best front three in Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, and Diogo Jota, while Joe Gomez had to play left-back, with Andy Robertson out with a long-term shoulder injury.

With Diaz rescuing a point in added time, he was given the starting job against Toulouse, and he was partnered with Cody Gakpo and Ben Doak, while Konstantinos Tsimikas and Jarell Quansah started at the back to replace Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

For this contest, Klopp would probably bring back Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez in the final third, while their back four would consist of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

With Alexis Mac Allister suspended for this particular contest (and he started against Luton Town and Toulouse), Wataru Endo might get the starting nod alongside Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai in the middle of the park.

Liverpool’s game against Brentford is essentially a warm-up ahead of their much-awaited clash against Manchester City, which will happen later this month. The hope for Klopp is that his squad will no longer pick up fresh injuries since they’ll need all hands on deck.

Brentford don’t need Toney at least for now

When Ivan Toney was slapped with an eight-month ban for betting offences earlier this year, there were valid concerns about how Brentford would cope since he was their best striker on the team.

But fast forward to today, and those concerns are put to rest, and they can thank the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Mathias Jensen, and Yoane Wissa for that.

Mbeumo is leading the team with six goals and two assists so far this year. Since Toney was suspended, the Cameroon international has embraced the challenge of being the Bees’ star man.

On the other hand, Mathias Jensen has recorded four goals despite being primarily a central midfielder, while Yoane Wissa has notched three.

Other than these three, Neal Maupay, Nathan Collins, Christian Norgaard, Saman Ghoddos, Kevin Schade, and Ethan Pinnock have found the back of the net too for Brentford.

History

The Reds have had the Bees’ number at Anfield since they have won their last seven home meetings across all competitions via a whopping aggregate tally of 16-1. Brentford’s last road win in the English top-flight against Liverpool was a 4-3 result in November 1937.

Liverpool have been unstoppable at Anfield this season, winning all eight of their games there across all competitions thus far, all by a margin of at least two goals.

Should they defeat Brentford this weekend via another high-scoring affair, they would match their longest winning streak at home, which happened between May and October 1980.

But the Bees will aim to win their fourth consecutive English top-flight match on Sunday for the first time since March 1939, when they won five in a row.

Betting Tip

All signs point to Liverpool getting back on track this weekend, as the SBOTOP Premier League 2023 odds have them as 1.42 favourites to win, while a victory for Brentford is priced at 6.00 and a draw is at 5.80 in the 1X2 market.

Tired legs may be a factor against Liverpool, but they have a deeper squad compared to Brentford. And of course, playing in Anfield is a different animal altogether, which only a handful of teams can handle.

Moreover, with both teams having quality attackers, we might be in for another shootout just like in their previous meetings, making bets like Over 3.50 at 2.25, Total Goals 2-3 at 2.18, and 4-6 at 2.48 viable alternatives.

 

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