Liverpool have come unstuck away to Brentford in the past and their weekend trip sees them head to one of the in-form home teams in the Premier League.
The Reds drew 1-1 away to Nottingham Forest in midweek, meaning they have only won three of their last seven league games.
Next up for Arne Slot‘s side is Saturday’s trip to a Brentford team who have excelled on their own turf this season, winning seven out of 11 games.
Thomas Frank’s men battled to a last-gasp 2-2 draw at home to Man City on Tuesday and Liverpool know this will be another big test.
Ahead of kickoff, we spoke to Brentford regular Billy Grant (@billythebee99) to discuss the season so far, Liverpool under Slot and the key battles.
How happy are you with Brentford’s season so far?
I’m very happy. Brentford have only lost two home matches, drawn two and won the rest.
We’re scoring goals for fun at home and are seeing some really exciting matches, like the 2-2 draw against Man City, as well as bonkers 5-3, 4-1, 3-2 and 4-3 winning scorelines.
Away from home has been pretty poor, though, with us registering seven defeats until a recent draw with Everton.
Our solitary win came last week at Southampton, but boy did we smash that duck, scoring five goals with no reply from Saints.
Is Thomas Frank still as good, and as loved, as ever?
Brentford fans love Thomas Frank.
We had a stinker against Plymouth in the FA Cup that led to a few moans, but then he set the team up to go toe-to-toe with City.
We were unlucky not to get all three points, despite being two goals down.
Who have been Brentford’s three best players? Who has struggled?
Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have been sublime, with both in double figures for the season.
Christian Norgaard had an out-of-this-world performance against City and is a class unto himself.
Nathan Collins has stepped up two notches at the back, while Keane Lewis-Potter has grown into the left-back role after converting from a winger.
Former Liverpool man Fabio Carvalho is still a way off being what we want him to be.
Attacking-wise, he is not potent enough, although you see glimpses. Defensively, he has to work much, much harder.
Do you think Mbeumo would be a good fit for Liverpool?
Naturally, Mbeumo would slot right in if Mo Salah were to ever move on.
We’re resigned to losing him in the summer, as we do all our good players.
As long as he goes to a decent home, I’m happy.
How do you assess Liverpool’s title chances?
The title is Liverpool’s to lose, but I think we may have a say in where it goes.
We’ve already blown out City’s flickering candle.
Saturday is key for you, and we go away to Arsenal at a time when all our players may be fit, so don’t take our measly away record as gospel at that stage.
We may pull off a wee surprise.
If you could have one Reds player at Brentford, who would it be?
Aaron Hickey has been injured for a long time, so we’re juggling right-backs at the moment.
For that reason, Trent Alexander-Arnold could do a job at ours, methinks!
Looking ahead to Saturday, where will the key battles take place?
The midfield battle will be important.
The Danish trio of Norgaard, Mathias Jensen and Mikkel Damsgaard matching up against Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai will be interesting.
As we love a fast break, Mbeumo vs. Andy Robertson and Kevin Schade vs. Trent will be key, too.
What’s your prediction?
I’ve gone for Brentford 2-1 Liverpool.
Rico Henry is very close to starting and we’ve almost got our Brentford back.
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