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Sport | Football
Reds will hope to go seven points clear and put pressure back on Arsenal in the title race
George Flood6 minutes ago
Brentford vs Liverpool LIVE!
Liverpool are back on the road for another potentially tough Premier League away trip at Brentford this afternoon.
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Brentford vs Liverpool latest news
Kick-off time: 3pm GMT | Gtech Community Stadium How to watch Brentford team news: Yarmoliuk in for Jensen Liverpool team news: Diaz fit but no Jota Standard Sport prediction7 minutes agoBrentford dealing with transfer interest in Mbeumo and Wissa
There has been plenty more transfer speculation this week regarding the future of Bryan Mbeumo, who continues to be linked with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle, among others.
The Cameroon forward is in demand after scoring 13 goals and registering three assists so far this term for Brentford, who have the option to automatically extend his contract by a further 12 months into 2027.
Thomas Frank made it crystal clear this week that Mbeumo would be going nowhere this month, telling reporters when asked if he could be sold before the January deadline: “No.
So, very easy to answer that question!”
Now Brentford are also having to deal with speculation over Mbeumo’s fellow attacker Yoane Wissa, who has been heavily linked with Nottingham Forest if Taiwo Awoniyi joins West Ham in the coming weeks.
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18 minutes agoSlot not focused on piling pressure back on Arsenal
Arne Slot was also asked at Friday’s pre-match press conference if he sees this trip to Brentford as a chance to apply some pressure on title rivals Arsenal, who don’t kick off at home to Aston Villa until 5:30pm.
The Gunners’ come-from-behind win over fierce rivals Tottenham in the latest north London derby on Wednesday night, 24 hours after the leaders drew at high-flying Nottingham Forest, saw them move back up to second and within four points of Slot’s side who still have that game in hand at Everton to come next month.
Surprise package Forest are only six points off Liverpool and entertain bottom club Southampton on Sunday.
“No, I don't look at it that way.
[Brentford] was my first Premier League game [at Anfield] and then I already thought, 'If this is going to be the resistance we get every week then this is a more difficult league than the Eredivisie.'
“Which I knew before I came but it was proven that day as well.
“They've had a very good season until now, had a 2-2 against [Manchester] City – great game, both teams creating a lot of chances – and their manager has done a fantastic job for so many years now.
“You can see that it is a team that has worked together with their manager for a long time.
“That's my only focus and not on when do Arsenal play or when do Chelsea play or when do all the others play.
“We only focus on ourselves and the team we have to face.”
John Walton/PA Wire
26 minutes agoGoal-shy Nunez not suffering from lack of confidence, says Slot
Some fans on social media had pondered if the returning Darwin Nunez might get a chance to lead the line for Liverpool today, with some not too impressed by playing Luis Diaz through the middle as a false nine.
The Uruguayan has scored only four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions so far this season, starting just seven games in the Premier League.
But yesterday Arne Slot dismissed concerns that Nunez was suffering from a lack of self-belief.
“That's your perception and maybe the perception of other people as well – but it's not my perception that he's struggling with self-confidence,” he said.
“He was involved against Accrington Stanley in the first goal again as well, he was involved in the goal against Fulham that Jota scored and he scored one against Southampton.
“I think after that it wasn't that he had many starts – maybe one time, I don't know exactly.
Darwin will score his goals, like he did for this club already and he will keep doing this.
“But I don't see him struggling that much as the way you see it and he's still involved in goals in the last few games as well.”
Adam Davy/PA Wire
42 minutes agoYarmoliuk replaces Jensen in only Brentford change
It’s also just one change from Thomas Frank to the Brentford team that came back from 2-0 down to snatch a late point at home to Manchester City on Tuesday.
Ukrainian midfielder Yehor Yarmoliuk replaces Mathias Jensen.
Otherwise it’s the same Bees squad as midweek, with the fit-again duo of Rico Henry and Ben Mee again among the substitutes.
So too is Kevin Schade, who has been linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund this week.
Sepp van den Berg starts against his former club, while another ex-Red will hope for a chance off the bench in Fabio Carvalho.
Liverpool are said to be among the teams interested in signing Brentford’s in-form forward Bryan Mbeumo.
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49 minutes agoTsimikas and Diaz start for Liverpool as Jota misses out
So that’s just the one change from Arne Slot to the Liverpool team that started against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.
It comes at left-back, where Kostas Tsimikas is preferred to Andy Robertson after an impactful cameo off the bench that included his corner that set up Diogo Jota’s equalising header just 22 seconds after the pair were introduced.
No Jota at all due to that new knock sustained at the City Ground, but Luis Diaz is fit to start after missing training with a sore throat.
Darwin Nunez is among the substitutes after suspension, taking Jota’s place in the squad.
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58 minutes agoBrentford lineup
Brentford XI: Flekken, Roerslev, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Mbeumo, Wissa
Subs: Valdimarsson, Henry, Schade, Jensen, Carvalho, Mee, Konak, Maghoma, Ji-soo
1 hour agoLiverpool lineup
Subs: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Chiesa, Jones, Elliott, Robertson, Quansah, Bradley
1 hour agoLuis Diaz with Liverpool squad after illness
I don’t think there was ever any real doubt about his availability today, but confirmation that Luis Diaz is indeed with the Liverpool squad this afternoon as expected after missing some of training this week due to illness.
Official lineups on the way very shortly...
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1 hour agoVan Dijk dismisses fears over Liverpool title wobble
Any suggestions that Liverpool might be hitting a wobble or a blip in their title charge under Arne Slot given those recent results have been firmly dismissed by captain Virgil van Dijk.
"Ooh, so we are in a crisis now?" he joked this week.
"It only confirms the Premier League is a very tough league where you play against opponents who are very good.
"It was always going to be tough, same with [Manchester] United at home with their new manager and the game plan they have been showing especially against the bigger teams.
"Every game is tough, we have to find a way to win and I think if we play like we did in the second half and keep fighting, keep trying, keep finding opportunities then I am very confident we will score goals as well like we have been doing all season."
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1 hour agoThomas Frank not ruling out Brentford upset
Brentford have the same number of home wins as Liverpool and Arsenal (seven) in the Premier League so far this season, though that has waned a little of late with their impressive fightback against Manchester City in midweek escaping a fourth successive loss across all competitions in front of their own fans.
However, Liverpool have the best away record in the top-flight and will be itching to reassert some authority this afternoon after that stalemate at Nottingham Forest was preceded by defeat to Tottenham in their Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie and an eventful 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Anfield.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank admits that the Reds start the afternoon as favourites, but backs his men to compete with any team on their own patch.
"Being favourites is not saying that you are going to win it (the title)," said Frank.
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