Premier League: Brentford vs Liverpool - Preview, prediction, team news

Thomas Frank's side won the London derby against West Ham United 2-0 in the last match of 2022, while the Reds came back from a goal down to win 2-1 against Leicester City, although they failed to score any of the three goals that night.

Ivan Toney's 12th Premier League goal of the year quickly gave way to worry for the Brentford talisman, who was taken away on a stretcher at the London Stadium in the closing minutes after helping his team to its second straight victory on the road in the top division.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dutch legend Ronald de Boer:<br><br>“He’s better when he starts on the left and comes inside. I think Liverpool plays a little bit like that, I remember [Luis] Diaz playing there, who is also by the way an exceptional talent.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lfc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#lfc</a> [mirror] <a href="https://t.co/gx4lk7jnSn">pic.twitter.com/gx4lk7jnSn</a></p>&mdash; Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnfieldWatch/status/1609839751355588608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Toney was quickest to react, scoring the opening goal in the 18th minute for the Bees, who went 2-0 up through Josh Dasilva just before the break, while West Ham conceded a couple of needless goals in front of angry fans.

Thomas Frank's side ended a year of phenomenal progress in perfect fashion and go into the New Year in 10th place in the table after Saturday's games, having been knocked down one place by Fulham following their success against Southampton.

With six goals in recent encounters with Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, Brentford's forward line should strike fear into the hearts of any backline. Only leaders Arsenal have taken all three points from the Gtech Community Stadium this season.

Since the 3-0 defeat to the Gunners, Brentford have gone four games unbeaten in the Premier League, beating Brighton & Hove Albion, while sharing the last three games with Spurs, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea.

With Jamie Carragher watching from the stands, Leicester centre-back Wout Faes, who was a driving force in improving the team's defensive performance before the World Cup, paid tribute to one of the few players to score two own goals in a Premier League game.

In contrast to Liverpool, Leicester got off to a fantastic start at Anfield on Friday. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gave the Foxes the lead after only four minutes, and Faes added two more goals before halftime.

While Juergen Klopp's men were unable to find their goalscoring touch, they were grateful that Faes had brought his, although their sixth place in the table will not change until Monday, and the gap to the top four is four points at the time of writing following Manchester United's win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Reds, who have started 2023 with four Premier League wins, will be looking to improve on their meagre record of just two wins from their last eight games at the start of the calendar year, but Klopp's side have scored in each of their last 26 away games in London.

That includes an entertaining 3-3 thriller against Brentford in the 2021/22 season, although the Bees also conceded three goals in a 3-0 defeat at Anfield in January 2022 and continue to wait for their first win against Liverpool since November 1938.

Team news

Few had hopes that Toney would avoid a severe injury, but Frank has received the good news that his striker has only suffered a minor muscular problem and could be available on Monday's game.

Cody Gakpo could make his debut for Liverpool FC in Monday night's Premier League match against Brentford in London - but only if all the documents are signed.

While Kristoffer Ajer, Shandon Baptiste, and Aaron Hickey are not expected to be sidelined for more than a few weeks, Toney will likely only serve as a replacement.

Frank Onyeka and Thomas Strakosha are given chances to return to the team, but only one change could be made by Frank, who should call up Yoane Wissa to replace Toney from the start.

Brentford are not the only club concerned about fitness, with Harvey Elliott and Andrew Robertson both forced off with injuries in Liverpool's win over Leicester. However, Klopp does not expect either of them to have picked up anything serious.

Whether the two will be fit to play less than 72 hours later is another matter, while Arthur, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Curtis Jones are all likely to miss out again, while James Milner (hamstring) and Roberto Firmino (calf) could be fit in time.

Fabinho missed Friday's game due to the birth of his child but could now return to provide a much-needed presence in the engine room, and new signing Cody Gakpo could make his debut on Monday.

However, Klopp is pessimistic about the club's chances of completing the relevant paperwork in time, meaning the Dutch attacker is likely to get his first Premier League minutes later.

Game prediction

Brentford 1-2 Liverpool

1. Brentford extended their unbeaten run to five games, beating West Ham 2-0 at the London Stadium on Friday night. The Bees have lost just once at home this season, but their last three games in west London have ended in draws.

2. Liverpool were lucky against Leicester on Friday night as two own first-half goals from Wout Faes gave the Reds a 2-1 win. Nevertheless, Juergen Klopp's team has won the league's last two away games.

3. The absence of Ivan Toney is significant for Brentford and could give Liverpool the confidence they need to claim a narrow victory.