The Premier League season is now up and running after last week’s opening fixtures. All eyes turn to Gameweek two as we preview Liverpool v Brentford.
Arne Slot takes charge of his first Premier League home match at Anfield as new Liverpool manager. The Reds, who host a Brentford side who finished a lowly 16th in the league last year, are looking to bring the atmosphere back to Anfield under a new management after former coach Jurgen Klopp left the club last season. Liverpool finished third in the league, securing Champions League football for 2024-25. Brentford, meanwhile, are hoping for a better season this year as Thomas Frank’s side won just seven games in the league.
Liverpool
Slot’s Liverpool has no injury concerns with a full group of players to choose as he prepares for first Anfield match.
Ibrahima Konate could return to make his first start under manager Slot, after he was benched in the opening win against Ipswich Town.
Defender Joe Gomez’s future is up in the air as he could be on the move during the summer window with transfer interest.
Brentford
The Bees will be without four players due to injury and will not play any part in the game at Anfield.
Josh Dasilva is still recovering from knee injury after doing surgery earlier this year, with no clear return date set.
Defender Aaron Hickey (hamstring) has been battling to return to fitness after a long duration out with injury.
Rico Henry (knee) is in a similar situation as he continues to be fit in time for the clash against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
Igor Thiago, new summer signing from Club Brugge suffered an injury to his meniscus during pre-season and will be out for a number of months.
Striker Ivan Toney was absent in the opener against Crystal Palace and is unlikely to play against Liverpool with transfer interest surrounding him.
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What happened in Gameweek 1?
Liverpool started the Slot era with a 2-0 win away to newly-promoted side Ipswich Town. It was the Dutchman’s first competitive match in charge as manager for Reds after succeeding Jurgen Klopp, who left the club last season.
Ipswich, back in the Premier League for the first time in 22 years, made a promising start to the game pressuring Liverpool early on during the opening stages.
Winger Omari Hutchinson went close following a fast Ipswich attack from their own half. However, the Jamaican’s low effort was gathered by Alisson Becker in the Liverpool goal.
After some neat play in the midfield, Englishman Trent Alexander-Arnold failed to hit the target after his placed shot went over the bar.
The Reds went close again with Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexander-Arnold combining well in the box to feed Luis Diaz but the Colombian failed to get his lobbed shot under control, therefore going over the bar.
However, Liverpool finally broke through after Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah combined well on the right wing, the Egyptian's accurately timed pass then found Diogo Jota in the box, who finished home to put Liverpool 1-0 up after 60 minutes.
Just five minutes later the Reds were celebrating again as Salah doubled their lead for 2-0, following a neat exchange with Szoboszlai and swept home to seal all three points.
Salah also broke the record for most goals scored on Premier League opening weekend with nine, overtaking legends such as Alan Shearer and Frank Lampard. It was a winning start for Slot with Liverpool.
Brentford played host to Crystal Palace in the London derby and it was the home side who triumphed following a 2-1 result. Manager Frank side got points on the board.
It did not take long for the new football rules to kick in as Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze had his freekick disallowed after an infringement in the penalty area according to referee Sam Barrott.
Brentford went in front following a goal from Bryan Mbeumo after he was played through by teammate Yoane Wissa. The Cameroon forward beat two defenders before beating Palace’s Dean Henderson in goal in the 29th-minute for 1-0 lead.
The Bees went close again to doubling their lead against Palace after great work by Kevin Schade on the left side, taking on and beating defender Chris Richards, but the German shot wide past the post.
In the 57th minute Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock gifted the Eagles something to cheer about after unfortunately turning the ball into his own goal. Palace’s Eze launched a deep cross into the penalty area, which was headed back in by Daniel Munoz but Pinnock’s attempt to clear the ball ultimately rolled in for an own goal. Palace were level at 1-1.
Just over 20 minutes later Brentford were back in front through Wissa on 79 minutes. Mbeumo and Mikkel Damsgaard exchanged passes on the right side of the pitch, with the Danish midfielder’s long range pass into the box confusing Henderson in the Palace goal and Wissa was there to tap home for 2-1 and seal the win.
Possible line ups
Alisson Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Diaz
Flekken; Ajer, Pinnock, Collins, Roerslev; Jensen, Janelt, Norgaard; Schade, Wissa, Mbeumo
Key Players
Liverpool: Mo Salah
Egyptian talisman Salah is once again the main for Liverpool and he showed that during the season opener away at Ipswich Town. The Egyptian was involved in both goals, grabbing an assist for Jota and scoring the second goal himself. Salah, playing in his 10th Premier League season, will be the main source of goals for Liverpool once more. Last season he scored 18 goals in 32 appearances in the league and grabbed 10 assists. The three-times Premier League Golden Boot winner will be one of the hot favourites for the prize.
Salah has six goal involvements against Brentford in the competition (five goals and one assist)
Brentford: Bryan Mbeumo
Mbeumo has scored 23 goals in 99 appearances throughout his Premier League career, along with 24 assists since the Bees were promoted to the top-flight in May 2021. The Cameroon forward has been a vital part of Frank’s Brentford team and will be crucial for the game at Anfield on Sunday. Mbeumo scored in the Bees’ 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on opening weekend of the season. He will hope to get more goals this season especially alongside strike partner Wissa.
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Transfer Business
Liverpool have made no signings so far during this summer window. In fact, they remain the only Premier League club not to bring in a new player.
Brentford have signed three players this summer: Igor Thiago earlier this summer from Belgian side Club Brugge for £30 million. Fabio Carvalho completed his move from Liverpool to the Bees in a £27.5 million deal. Dutch defender Sepp van den Berg joined the West London club from the Reds for £25 million.
How to watch the game
Liverpool v Brentford is part of a Super Sunday triple-header clash of Premier League football. The match takes place on Sunday 25 August 2024 at Anfield 4:30pm UK time live on Sky Sports. Viewers in the United States can tune into the game live from 10:30 EST on all relevant TV networks.
