By Joel Lefevre

Fresh off an emphatic 5-1 Champions League triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, Liverpool aim to end a three-match losing run in the Premier League when they travel to Gtech Community Stadium for a date with Brentford on Saturday. 

A 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester United dropped the Reds down to fourth in the table, while the Bees are 13th following a 2-0 win over West Ham on Monday night.

The Preview:

A four-match losing run across all competitions must have felt like a lifetime, given what we have seen from the Reds over the previous couple of seasons and it ended in style on Wednesday.

Should they suffer another defeat on Sunday, it would mark their longest losing run in the top-flight since Jürgen Klopp saw them lose four in a row in February 2021.

Their record against London-based clubs of late is not great with Liverpool losing four successive away matches versus teams from the English capital.

If they are to get back in the race for the title, Arne Slot’s men must improve their away form, with the Reds losing five of their last eight Premier League away matches as many as they suffered in their previous 43 before that.

They have yet to score a single goal in the opening half of a Premier League away game this season, with half of their top-flight goals outside Anfield coming with fewer than 15 minutes remaining (3/6).

Liverpool have won five consecutive games against the Bees, including the previous two at Gtech Community Stadium by a combined margin of 6-1.

Eight matches into the new campaign, we have seen a mixed bag from Brentford, perhaps not too surprising after losing such a beloved boss in Thomas Frank to Tottenham.

With Keith Andrews at the helm, they have won two of their previous three league outings but have yet to claim consecutive triumphs this season.

They have suffered two defeats to this point of the campaign when scoring first, but are unbeaten in five straight home games in this competition when doing so.

Seven of their 10 points collected this season have come at home, though a defeat on Saturday would equal their longest Premier League home losing run in 2025 (two matches).

Defensively, they have looked very composed at home, conceding only four of their 12 goals this season at Gtech Stadium.

The Bees will aim to collect their first triumph against the Reds this weekend since 2023, when they beat them 3-1 at home thanks in part to an own-goal byLiverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté.

Team News:

Alexander Isak left at half-time on Wednesday with a sore groin, which, if he can’t go on Saturday, would be a shame as he’s scored in all four of his appearances versus Brentford, with no player boasting a better 100% scoring rate against a single opponent in this competition.

In addition to that, Alisson and Stefan Bajcetic have hamstring issues and are questionable, as is Ryan Gravenberch with a sore ankle. Jeremie Frimpong played just 19 minutes on Wednesday after suffering a hamstring strain, and Giovanni Leoni is out with a cruciate ligament tear.

Mohamed Salah will be chomping at the bit to draw back into the starting lineup after being benched against Frankfurt for over 70 minutes, and having scored six times against Brentford.

On the Brentford side, Aaron Hickey is dealing with a knock, while Antoni Milambo is out with a cruciate ligament injury. Paris Maghoma is doubtful as he is currently nursing a hamstring injury, which is expected to keep him out of the fold until Halloween.

Michael Kayode is a player to watch with the Italian creating seven chances against the Hammers, the joint-most by a Premier League player this season, while Igor Thiago is their danger man up top, scoring five goals domestically this season.

There will be a couple of Brentford players eager to show up their former team, with Jordan Henderson a part of the Liverpool side that claimed the 2019-20 Premier League crowns, while Caoimhin Kelleher was a reserve goalkeeper for the Reds last season.

Predicted Lineups:

Brentford:

 Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, van den Berg, Ajer; Henderson, Yarmolyuk; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Thiago.

Liverpool:

Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konaté, van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Mac Allister; Salah, Szobszlai, Gakpo; Ekitiké.