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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 25
Brentford v Liverpool
Gtech Community Stadium
London, England
Saturday, 17 February 2024
Kick-off is at 12h30
Premier League leaders Liverpool will go in search of their 17th win of the season when they meet Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, February 17 in the lunchtime kick-off.
The Reds bounced back from only their second defeat in 24 matches as they beat Burnley 3-1 at Anfield on February 10 to maintain the two-gap to title rivals Manchester City (2nd) and Arsenal (3rd).
The Citizens saw off Everton 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium earlier in the day, while the Gunners demolished West Ham 6-0 at the London Stadium 24 hours later to stay five points clear of Tottenham, who reclaimed fourth spot from Aston Villa courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Brighton in the capital.
The Bees arrested a two-game losing streak with a 2-0 triumph over Wolves at Molineux on February 10 which lifted them up to 14th position, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Thomas Frank's side were just one of three clubs in the bottom half of the table to pick up maximum points on matchday 24, putting them just two behind Bournemouth (13th) and one ahead of Crystal Palace (15th).
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In team news, Frank could welcome back Yoane Wissa and Frank Onyeka from Africa Cup of Nations duty, but he remains without Rico Henry, Josh Dasilva (both knee), Bryan Mbeumo (ankle), Aaron Hickey (thigh) and Kevin Schade (groin). Ibrahima Konate returns to contention for Jurgen Klopp's side after serving a one-match suspension, while Alisson and Joe Gomez could also be back about a bout of illness. Mohamed Salah (thigh) is doubtful, although Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold (both knee), Dominik Szoboszlai, Thiago Alcantara (both thigh) and Stefan Bajcetic continue to be unavailable.
Frank hailed his defence for keeping Wanderers at bay as they recorded a first clean sheet in 13 games, with the Dane admitting the Bees have not been anywhere near as defensively consistent of late.
"We know, when we are on it, we are one of the good defensive sides in the league, and we have lacked that level of consistency or urgency or whatever in too many games - it feels like it's been three years since we had a clean sheet!" Frank said.
"The clean-sheet mentality was a big focus today. We spoke about it during the week, in training and in meetings, and, I know it sounds simple, but I said, 'clean sheet and we'll win the game', because we'll always score goals.
"I'm happy with the way we defended as a team: our principles, but also the 50/50 duels, closing down one-on-one situations, running hard to get under the ball, and good blocks. I was so pleased with that side of the game."
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Klopp admitted the Clarets made life difficult his team, but felt they were able to get control after scoring early in the second half to go 2-1 up.
"I can really imagine how Vincent Kompany is feeling right now because they did a lot of good stuff and made it really uncomfortable for us," the German said.
"But in general, besides the first 15 minutes, when we were in a rush and we played too early, they had counter-attacks and situations and that was a problem. Then we calmed it down and scored wonderful goals.
"We knew at half-time what we had to do. We were in control but we had to change Trent Alexander-Arnold and are short on defenders. Curtis Jones did incredibly well, like Harvey Elliott did when he came on. It was a difficult game with strange circumstances."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Brentford - 1
Liverpool - 3
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 25 fixtures:
Saturday, February 17
12h30: Brentford v Liverpool
15h00: Burnley v Arsenal
15h00: Fulham v Aston Villa
15h00: Newcastle United v Bournemouth
15h00: Nottingham Forest v West Ham United
15h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers
17h30: Manchester City v Chelsea
Sunday, February 18
14h00: Sheffield United v Brighton & Hove Albion
16h30: Luton Town v Manchester United
Monday, February 19
20h00: Everton v Crystal Palace
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