Liverpool vs Brentford LIVE: Premier League result and reaction from fixture today
Follow all the latest updates in the Premier League this afternoon at Anfield
Jurgen Klopp burst towards the Kop, furiously fist-pumping to illustrate the importance of victory against Brentford. This wasn’t a blockbuster game, nor blockbuster opponents but Liverpool’s manager knows the fight and three points can be vital signs for the rest of the season.
A first win in four league matches came on his 350th outing in charge of the club, catapulting them above Chelsea in second, but it wasn’t without heaps of toil.
Virgil van Dijk kissed Fabinho’s head, a symbol of relief as Anfield broke into rapture. They had probed and probed some more. They had come close and then started to come unstuck as Brentford began to show aggression beyond defensive resistance in their own box.
Finally, on 44 minutes, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner had evaded the visitors’ defiance and was headed in at the back post by Fabinho. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Takumi Minamino wrapped up the win in the second half.
Follow all the match reaction and analysis from Anfield, plus reaction from West Ham vs Leeds below:
Liverpool rediscover scoring touch to sweep past Brentford and move up to second
Jurgen Klopp reveals ‘long talk’ with Curtis Jones over his potential at Liverpool
Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp learns useful lesson from Arsenal stalemate
Jurgen Klopp looking for Liverpool ‘solution’ in Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane’s absence
Liverpool vs Brentford: Team changes
Jurgen Klopp makes two changes to the Liverpool team that started against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Thursday. Takumi Minamino and James Milner drop to the bench with Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replacing them in the line-up.
There is just one change for Thomas Frank’s Brentford. Sergi Canos starts on the bench with Rico Henry brought into the starting line-up. Both players are fit again with Frank opting for Henry to start. Canos could make an appearance off the bench if needed.
West Ham vs Leeds confirmed line-ups and team news
Today’s other 2pm kick-off sees West Ham host Leeds United. Here are the confirmed line-ups from the London Stadium:
West Ham XI: Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell; Rice; Lanzini, Fornals, Vlasic, Bowen; Antonio
Leeds XI: Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Struijk, Firpo; Dallas, Forshaw; Raphinha, Klich, Harrison; James
Liverpool vs Brentford: Line-ups
Liverpool XI: Alisson. Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jota, Firmino
Brentford XI: Fernandez, Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock, Roerslev, Janelt, Norgaard, Baptiste, Henry, Mbeumo, Toney
Liverpool vs Brentford: Liverpool need points to challenge City
After defeating Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium yesterday Manchester City opened up a 13-point gap at the top of the Premier League table. Liverpool sit third and are 14 points behind the champions but have two games in hand and could cut that deficit to eight.
That is still a big gap to overhaul and Jurgen Klopp’s men would need to be almost perfect in order to have a chance to catch Pep Guardiola’s men. On top of that City would need to drop points themselves which seems unlikely based on their current form.
If Liverpool want to remain in the title race they need to kick start their season again starting with a win over Brentford this afternoon.
Liverpool vs Brentford: Sergi Canos will play against Liverpool ‘unless someone cuts his leg off’
Thomas Frank says everyone at Brentford is looking forward to Sunday’s trip to Liverpool and confirmed Sergi Canos is set to be fit to face his former club.
Wing-back Canos made his return from a hamstring injury during Tuesday’s 4-1 loss at Southampton but was forced off to raise doubts about his chances of making an overdue appearance at Anfield.
The Spaniard moved to Merseyside as a teenager in 2013 but only played once for the Reds away to West Brom at the end of the 2015-16 campaign, before he departed Liverpool and carved out a career in England with the Bees via a short stint with Norwich.
Sergi Canos will play against Liverpool ‘unless someone cuts his leg off’
The Spaniard moved to Merseyside as a teenager in 2013 but only played once for the Reds
Liverpool vs Brentford: Recent results
Liverpool have not won in three Premier League matches after a defeat to Leicester sandwiched in between draws with Tottenham and Chelsea. Last time out the Reds were unable to beat Arsenal at Anfield despite the Gunners only having 10-men for the majority of the game after Granit Xhaka was sent off in the first half. It was the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final and Klopp will want to get back to winning ways today in order to take some momentum into the second leg at the Emirates on Thursday.
Brentford were heavily beaten by Southampton (4-1) last time out after winning both of their previous fixtures in 2022. Manager Thomas Frank was disappointed with the way the Bees performed at St. Marys and will want to see a more disciplined performance against Liverpool today even if Brentford are on the wrong side of the result.
Liverpool vs Brentford: Klopp encourages players to take opportunity
Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp, has encouraged his players to take their opportunity in these games that the Reds have to play without trio Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Mo Salah who are at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Klopp says every player has a part to play to improve the team, especially if they want to reach the heights of previous seasons. He said:
We are in the period now whereby we have these matches with three players currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Firstly, for the three guys – Sadio [Mane], Naby [Keita] and Mo [Sala] – I wish them nothing but joy, luck and success while competing in this great competition.
“Hand on heart I would love one of them to go all the way and become champions. I know what it means to them. I hope they enjoy every second of their time competing.
“For us, it means we must play without them, including today, until they return. But that is absolutely fine. It presents fantastic opportunity for other players. This is how we view it.
“This is an intense period and each and every player’s contribution will be critical, if we are to get the results we want.
“Every second of every game is an opportunity for us if we are minded to view it as such. We can’t switch off even for the briefest of moments and we must not lose focus. We have to be in every moment. We must be ready in every moment.
“The quality of the opponent is too strong for us to be anything other than our best at all times.”
Liverpool vs Brentford: Frank on heading to Anfield
Brentford manager Thomas Frank says he wants his team to bounceback after a disappointing performance against Southampton saw them lose 4-1 away from home in their last league game.
Frank says he wants his players to enjoy themselves at the iconic ground and the only way to do that is to get a positive result from the game. He said:
We hate losing, maybe even more when we perform badly. 24 hours is the maximum we can be disappointed or irritated, then we have to move forward.
“Life moves on. This is a squad that wants to improve and get better. We want to do our very best to get a win on Sunday.
“It’s the first time that we are going to Anfield. We all know that it is one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world. We are all looking forward to that.
“We all want to go there, express ourselves, and attack. We want it to be fun and a good experience at both two o’clock and at four o’clock.
“It is not that fun if we go there and get beaten 4-0. It is only a fantastic experience if we go there and get a result. That is what we are aiming for.”
Liverpool vs Brentford: Injuries and Absentees
James Milner, Andy Robertson an Virgil van Dijk all picked up small knocks in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup tie with Arsenal but all three players are expected to be fit for today’s Premier League clash.
Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Mo Salah are all missing as they are at the African Cup of Nations.
Brentford’s Rico Henry should be fit to start and Sergi Canos has said he will play against Liverpool after a knock.
However, Josh Dasilva, David Raya, Charlie Goode and Mathias Jorgensen remain out and Frank Onyeka is also at AFCON.
Liverpool vs Brentford latest news
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has backed Ivan Toney to give Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk another good battle on Sunday.
The Bees forward produced a superb display in the last meeting between the clubs in September, grabbing an assist and generally being a constant thorn in the Reds defence’s side with his aerial presence.
Toney goes into this weekend’s clash against the club he supported as a boy without a goal since the end of November. After scoring five times during the opening months of the campaign, the 25-year-old has now gone seven weeks and seven games in all competitions without finding the net.
A bout of Covid-19 in December has contributed towards the length of the mini-goal drought but Frank showed his forward some clips this week to point out he continues to get in good areas but just needs to improve his sharpness. He said: “I just showed him seven or eight situations from the Southampton game where he is nearly in, in the right area for a cross or a chipped ball behind and it is just about the quality of the cross or him being a little bit sharper.
“I think he is just a bit closer to where he is when he is at his best. The last two games you see the sharpness of his touches was not where it normally is.
“We spoke about that and he worked very hard (on Friday) but it is normal that he goes a little up and down. He is a player who is good to stay in games and the more he works to get that level up I think he will be fine.”
Full report:
Brentford boss expecting ‘tough battle’ between Ivan Toney and Virgil Van Dijk
The Bees forward has five goals this season but has not scored in his last seven games.
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