Preview: Brentford vs. Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups

The Reds regained their rightful position at the summit by overcoming Burnley 3-1 last weekend, while the Bees eased any growing relegation fears with a 2-0 success at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Match preview

Renewing hostilities with Wolves for the fourth time in the space of two months, Brentford fans could be forgiven for being sick of the sight of orange shirts, having witnessed their side crushed 4-1 at Molineux in December before an agonising FA Cup extra-time replay defeat last month.

Revenge was the dish of the day in the West Midlands, though, as Christian Norgaard's close-range header propelled the Bees into the ascendancy, and after Craig Dawson's equaliser was disallowed for a marginal offside, Ivan Toney did what he does best at the other end of the field.

An early injury to talismanic Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha certainly aided Brentford's Molineux mission, but Thomas Frank's men were deserved winners in gameweek 24 and have therefore risen above Crystal Palace into 14th place in the table - still a far cry from their top half-challenging days of old.

The Bees only have a six-point buffer to the drop zone at this juncture, although they boast a match in hand over all but one of the six teams below them, and Saturday's win over Wolves was especially significant from a defensive point of view, as Brentford ended a 14-game run without a clean sheet stretching back to October.

Next on the agenda is snapping a dismal streak of rearguard form at the Gtech Community Stadium, where Frank's men have shipped multiple goals in each of their last four Premier League contests, although only one of their last 25 top-flight home games has seen the Bees fail to register themselves.

That scoreless outing for the Bees came in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal, who put a minor dent in Liverpool's quadruple chances at the Emirates earlier this month, but Jurgen Klopp's side reacted to that 3-1 defeat as expected with an identical beating of Burnley in front of a record-breaking Anfield crowd.

Nearly 60,000 spectators took their seats to witness Diogo Jota and Dara O'Shea cancel one another out with first-half headers, and in a contest dominated by aerial excellence, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez both nodded in during the second period to get Liverpool back on track immediately.

Klopp's crop had briefly been demoted to second place owing to Manchester City's lunchtime beating of Everton, but the departing German's side once again sit two points clear of both the reigning champions and Arsenal in top spot, albeit having played a game more than Pep Guardiola's juggernaut.

Premier League supremacy therefore remains out of Liverpool's hands at this juncture, and 14 of the 18 points that the Reds have dropped this season have come on their travels, but Klopp's scintillating attackers are yet to draw a blank on enemy territory in the current top-flight campaign.

November's Anfield encounter between Liverpool and Brentford saw the league leaders stroll to a 3-0 victory, but the Bees have taken five points from six against the Reds during their Gtech Community Stadium clashes, and neither of these clubs has registered an away win over the other during the Premier League era.

Brentford Premier League form:

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Brentford form (all competitions):

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Liverpool Premier League form:

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Liverpool form (all competitions):

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Team News

While Cunha's serious injury unsurprisingly dominated the post-game headlines at Molineux, Brentford's Mathias Jensen was a little worse for wear as he was taken off in the 69th minute, but the midfielder is not believed to have sustained any severe damage.

The Bees should also receive a double international boost in the form of Yoane Wissa and Frank Onyeka's returns from the Africa Cup of Nations, the latter arriving back in the English capital with a runners-up medal owing to Nigeria's loss to Ivory Coast in the final.

However, Rico Henry (knee), Bryan Mbeumo (ankle), Kevin Schade (groin) and Aaron Hickey (thigh) remain unavailable, while Josh Dasilva recently sustained a serious knee injury in training and is expected to miss the rest of the season following surgery.

Likewise, Liverpool's attacking ranks could also be strengthened by a returning winger this weekend, as Mohamed Salah is now back in full training following a muscular injury and should be in contention to make his comeback here; Klopp will offer the latest update in his pre-game press conference.

In addition to Salah, both Alisson Becker and Joe Gomez have recovered from illness, while Ibrahima Konate is back from a ban, and Conor Bradley has also been spotted in training after missing two matches due to the death of his father.

It is not entirely good news for Liverpool on the defensive front, though, as Trent Alexander-Arnold damaged his knee once again in the win over Burnley, and the vice-captain's latest problem is expected to keep him sidelined until after the EFL Cup final on February 25.

Alexander-Arnold is welcomed back into the infirmary by Joel Matip (knee), Ben Doak (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (calf), Thiago Alcantara (hip) and Dominik Szoboszlai (thigh), the latter of whom also remains a major doubt for the imminent trip to Wembley.

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Collins, Mee, Pinnock; Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen, Norgaard, Reguilon; Toney, Maupay

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Endo, Mac Allister; Jota, Nunez, Diaz

We say: Brentford 1-3 Liverpool

No team in the Premier League has lost more points from winning positions than Brentford (26) in the current Premier League season, while comeback kings Liverpool have taken a league-high 19 after falling behind, which points to one outcome in the capital even if Frank's side can draw first blood.

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