It is back to Anfield, at last! Brentford are the visitors for Arne Slot‘s first competitive home game as Liverpool seek to make it back-to-back wins to start the campaign.
Liverpool vs. Brentford
Premier League (2) | Anfield
August 25, 2024 | 4.30pm (BST)
Anfield awaits on Sunday afternoon for the first glimpse of Slot’s side in competitive action on home soil – and there’s plenty to look forward to.
The Dutchman has had a week of training to build on the performance and result from Ipswich and here’s hoping the Reds have a quicker start than they did last time out!
Here is all you need to know ahead of the Bees’ visit.
1. 2 Reds trade Anfield for Brentford
Liverpool have been busy on the outgoing front this summer and Brentford have been at the front of the queue, splashing the cash on Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg.
The pair, if all their add-ons are triggered, will see Liverpool bank close to £50 million – making for a sizeable profit even after sell-on fees are paid to their former clubs.
They are both expected to be available for Sunday’s return to Anfield, giving them an early opportunity to say a proper goodbye. We are more likely to see Carvalho get minutes, though.
“Everybody’s happy, unless they do too well on Sunday,” Slot joked ahead of the clash.
2. Quansah in doubt
Jarell Quansah was substituted at half-time in the opening game, both he and Slot talked it over and the centre-back returned to training as normal.
He did, however, pick up “a bit of an injury” earlier in the week and missed training sessions during the week, casting doubt over his availability for this fixture.
Ibrahima Konate is the obvious one to continue alongside Virgil van Dijk in what is expected to be the only change as the squad is otherwise healthy.
3. Toney to remain out in the cold?
There has never been a time when Ivan Toney hasn’t courted the interest of other clubs and this summer is no different, though he has yet to make a move amid interest from Saudi Arabia.
He was left out of the squad last week despite being fit and we expect the same again, meaning Frank will be without the striker in addition to Rico Henry, Igor Thiago, Josh Dasilva and Aaron Hickey.
Bryan Mbeumo, a player many have considered as a possible Mo Salah replacement, will be the one to watch – he opened the scoring for the Bees in their 2-1 win on the opening weekend.
Predicted XI: Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer; Norgaard, Janelt, Jensen; Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade
4. A single change for the Reds?
Konate for Quansah is expected when team news drops 75 minutes before kickoff on Sunday, not just for what occurred at Ipswich but also for the minor injury he’s picked up.
It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to fitness issues!
Andy Robertson did not enjoy his best performance last time out, but he needs to build into the season after a compromised pre-season.
The Reds have good depth up top but it is hard to see past Mo Salah, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota all starting for the second week in a row.
Predicted XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Diaz, Jota
5. A “transitional season” for Brentford
The Bees finished in 16th spot last season, a 20-point and seven-place drop from the year prior – but how do their supporters expect this campaign to pan out?
Ahead of the season, This Is Anfield spoke with Brentford fan Billy Grant from Beesotted, to assess the mood:
“This feels like a transitional season for the Bees.
“I’m hoping we don’t get a repeat of last year’s catalogue of injuries which threatened to railroad our season.
“Ivan Toney replacement Igor Thiago getting injured for four months in his first outing hasn’t been a great start.
“Have all our injured players back and sign our targets, and we’ll be in good shape.”
You can read the Bees’ full season predictions, including where they think the Reds will finish, here.
6. Let’s not tempt fate, but…
Liverpool have not lost their first home league game of a season in the last 21 years – they treat us well, don’t they?
The last time the Reds lost their home opener was in 2003 when Chelsea managed a narrow 2-1 win. It just had to be them, didn’t it?
Here’s hoping that this is a good omen and not a jinx!
7. Gomez’s strong week in training
Slot was coy in his view on Joe Gomez‘s future but he did praise his centre-back for his application at training during the week having previously needed to manage his training load:
“Yeah [his head has been in the right place] for three weeks. He’s worked really hard since he came back.
“He didn’t play a lot at the Euros and when he came back in the first sessions he couldn’t train for the whole session, so we had to manage his load a bit.
“That was also a reason why he wasn’t in the team [at Ipswich]. This week he had a good week in terms of [training] load, how much he could do with the team.
“He’s one of the players that I see new things from and learn things from what I see from him, also combined with other players. It’s been a good week for him and us until now.”
8. Salah stings the Bees
There are not many opponents that Salah has not been a menace to over the years, but he certainly has been a thorn in Brentford‘s side.
The Egyptian has scored five goals against the visitors in just 406 minutes of action, his goals across five appearances are the most by any Liverpool player in history against Brentford.
In this fixture last season, Salah became the first Reds player ever to score more than once in a league game against the Bees.
Same again please, Mo!
9. The man in the middle
Familiar faces for us but not for Slot when it comes to referee appointments at Anfield – and let’s hope it stays that way, we’ve had enough ref drama!
Stuart Attwell has been appointed as the referee at Anfield, Liverpool have lost only one of the last 18 games he has been in charge of. Incidentally, that was against Brentford…
Michael Oliver is in place as lead VAR.
10. How you can follow the match with TIA!
Liverpool vs. Brentford will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event in the UK, coverage starts at 4pm (BST) ahead of the 4.30pm kickoff.
As always, This Is Anfield will be here with biased commentary on our matchday live blog, Harry McMullen will keep you informed and entertained from 3.45pm.
Into these, Reds!
