Brentford prepare to host Liverpool at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon aiming to protect their unbeaten start to the Premier League season. The Bees sit fourth in the table with 10 points from six games, having scored 12 goals and conceded just six.
Keith Andrews's side are one of only three teams yet to lose this season, alongside Manchester City and Everton. This run marks their longest unbeaten start to a league campaign since the 2006-07 season in the third tier. Their recent form shows two wins and three draws from the last five, including a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa last time out. Andrews was reported to be disappointed with only a point from that match.
Team news and possible lineups
Brentford have several fitness concerns ahead of the match. Kevin Schade, the club's top scorer with three goals this season, is a doubt alongside Jannik Schuster, Mikkel Damsgaard and Nathan Collins. If Schuster does not recover, Sepp van den Berg is in line to deputise at centre-back. Caoimhin Kelleher is expected to start in goal. A possible Brentford lineup could see Kelleher protected by a back four of Kayode, Van den Berg, Ajer and Lewis-Potter, with Yarmolyuk and Janelt in midfield. The attack may feature Anthony, Jensen and Ouattara supporting striker Igor Thiago.
Liverpool also have selection issues. Ryan Gravenberch is suspended, while Andoni Iraola could not confirm the fitness of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak or Cody Gakpo. This could open the door for academy graduate Trey Nyoni to make his first Premier League start in central midfield alongside Alexis Mac Allister. Virgil van Dijk and Milos Kerkez are expected to return to the starting lineup after being substitutes in midweek.
Recent form and head-to-head
Brentford's strength has been built on a solid defence and a formidable home record. They are on an eight-game unbeaten run in the Premier League at the Gtech, their longest such streak since the 2022-23 season. They have already beaten Chelsea and Tottenham at home this campaign. Liverpool, however, will be looking to bounce back from a 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City, which was Iraola's first loss as their manager. The Reds sit ninth, one point behind Brentford.
The head-to-head record is finely balanced. Brentford won the last meeting at the Gtech almost exactly a year ago, a 3-2 victory, and took four points from Liverpool across last season. Liverpool had won five consecutive meetings prior to that. Iraola has never beaten Brentford in seven previous attempts as a manager across his career.
Match context and closing detail
Brentford will be wary of conceding first, having done so in half of their league matches this season without yet managing to come back and win. Liverpool's Bradley Barcola arrives in form after scoring a hat-trick in a midweek Champions League win. The referee for the fixture is John Brooks, who has awarded three penalties in four Premier League outings this season. Brentford's next assignment after this is a continuation of their push for European qualification, a stated aim for the season. The full schedule is available on our fixtures page. Giovanni Leoni's return to training has been pushed back to the November international break, with Iraola noting the delay. "It’s taking more time than we wanted," the Liverpool manager said. "The plan was to train with the team in the last international break, but it is probably going to be in the next one, so we have lost one month in the process."
More detail at thisisanfield.com
