There are three fixtures to be played in the English Premier League on Sunday the 16th of January including the meeting between Liverpool and Brentford.
The game will be played at Anfield and the hosts begin the weekend in 3rd place on 42 points while the visitors are in 13th place on 23 points.
📐 The bright spot on a difficult night #BrentfordFC #SOUBRE pic.twitter.com/CFTmLHTe5d— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 12, 2022
📐 The bright spot on a difficult night #BrentfordFC #SOUBRE pic.twitter.com/CFTmLHTe5d
Liverpool come into the match on the back of a disappointing 0-0 draw at home against Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final on Thursday night.
As it was the home leg of the tie, Liverpool were hoping to build an advantage to take with them to the Emirates Stadium next week but failed to create good scoring chances. The fact Arsenal were down to ten men for over an hour makes the outcome even worse for Liverpool.
That result means Liverpool have won only 1 of their 4 most recent games in all competitions.
The win came at home against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup but Liverpool have also been defeated 1-0 at Leicester City in the Premier League and held to a 2-2 draw at Chelsea, despite being 2-0 up in that match.
However, home form in the Premier League is good and Liverpool have won each of their last 4 league games on home soil. In fact, Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 21 home matches in all competitions.
Conceding goals has become a bit of a problem in recent games and Liverpool have kept just one clean sheet in their last 7 matches.
Brentford make the trip to Anfield having lost 4-1 at Southampton on Tuesday night. They found themselves 1-0 down after only 5 minutes but scored the equalising goal 18 minutes later.
Brentford could not hold on until half-time and conceded a second, which was quickly followed by a third after the interval. Southampton rounded off the scoring in the 70th minute to leave Brentford empty handed.
That result means Brentford have won 3 of their last 9 matches in all competitions. They have lost 3 of their last 4 Premier League fixtures, with the defeats coming at Brighton and Southampton plus at home against Manchester City. The victory was a 2-1 success at home against Aston Villa.
Brentford have won only 1 of their last 7 away matches in all competitions and have conceded 2 or more goals in their last 6 away Premier League games in a row.
Team news and Liverpool will be without key attacking duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, who are at the Africa Cup of Nations. Naby Keita is also at the tournament while Thiago Alcantara, Divock Origi, Nathaniel Phillips, and Harvey Elliot are injured.
Brentford continue to struggle with a significant injury list including Charlie Goode, Tariqe Fosu, Zanka, David Raya, Joshua Dasilva, and Julian Jeanvier. Rico Henry is a doubt while Frank Onyeka is at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Liverpool were poor against Arsenal and it will be interesting to see how they cope without Salah and Mane in this game. We expect to see both teams find the back of the net, with over 3.5 goals a possibility. Liverpool need maximum points but may be forced to settle for 1 point in a thrilling draw.