Brentford‘s injury list has eased in the lead-up to Liverpool’s visit, but Thomas Frank is still without six players for the visit of Arne Slot‘s men on Saturday.
The joint-second-best home side in the Premier League meets the best away side on Saturday afternoon, with Liverpool travelling to the Gtech Community Stadium.
Slot will be without Joe Gomez (hamstring) for the clash, while Diogo Jota is in serious doubt with his latest fitness concern after showing his importance last time out.
Luis Diaz, meanwhile, is expected to be involved despite missing Thursday’s training session with a sore throat.
It is a small list of possible absentees for the Reds in comparison to Brentford, who have been up against it this season with injuries.
Rico Henry and Ben Mee both returned to the squad for their 2-2 draw against Man City in midweek to leave six players on their injury list ahead of Liverpool’s visit.
Gustavo Nunes, Josh Dasilva, Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer, Igor Thiago and Aaron Hickey all remain sidelined for the hosts – they’ve combined for just 32 appearances due to long-term injuries.
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On Thursday, Frank said: “It’s the same squad as Tuesday. Everyone is available that was available for the Manchester City game. There are no new injuries.”
That means ex-Reds Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho will be in contention to feature, though only the former is expected to start having done so in 20 of his 21 appearances this season.
The reverse fixture at the start of the season saw Liverpool win 2-0 and Frank has conceded his side will need to be “brave” and “clever” if they are to get a result.
He said: “We need to be brave again on Saturday, but also be clever. There’s always bits you want to improve from the last game, especially in defensive transitions.
“I expect an entertaining game. I expect a game that, at times, will be end-to-end.
“It’s about how we can play to our strengths but also acknowledge and be aware of what Liverpool is very good at, and they’re probably the best transition team in the world.”
Possible Brentford XI: Flekken; Roerslev, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt, Jensen; Mbeumo, Wissa, Damsgaard
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