Liverpool vs Brentford Betting Tips (06/05/23) – Reds to Enjoy Home Comforts Once More

The win is the thing, but Liverpool were somewhat fortunate to come away from Wednesday’s meeting with Fulham with all three points. Aside from Mo Salah’s 39th minute penalty, which turned out to be the winning goal in the 1-0 victory, Liverpool only really created one goalscoring chance of note – the Egyptian himself failing to register when well-placed after 17 minutes.

Fulham offered very little in the early going of the game, but seemed to grow in belief as they stifled the Reds’ attacking play, and in the second period they might well have found an equaliser – Alisson making a fine save to deny Carlos Vinicius.

Despite the probing of the excellent Luis Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is excelling in a sort of inverted full back role, the Reds only managed to create half-chances at best, and indeed they only fashioned five shots from within the Fulham penalty area, not counting Salah’s spot kick.

The Egyptian had been on a run of missed penalties prior to finding the net against Tottenham, and he made it two from two on Wednesday when he powered past Bernd Leno after Issa Diop had brought down Darwin Nunez.

The Uruguayan was a somewhat surprising starter given the form of Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo, but he delivered a typically energetic performance that confirmed the embarrassment of riches that Jurgen Klopp has in attack.

Afterwards, the Liverpool head coach was quick to play down his team’s chances of finishing inside the Champions League places – even though the Reds now find themselves just four points adrift of Manchester United in fourth. They, of course, have two games in hand.

“If Newcastle and Manchester United win all their games, we have no chance. If Brighton win all their games, they are ahead of us. That’s the situation. We just have to win our games and see where it takes us,” Klopp said.

“At the moment I’m happy with our direction. We just have to keep going and in the end we’ll look at the table and take what we can get.”

The Reds will be looking for a sixth straight win on Saturday as they enjoy another home date at Anfield, this time against Brentford.

Liverpool Team News

Klopp shuffled his pack once again in midweek, with Nunez, Jordan Henderson and Kostas Tsimikas coming in for Gakpo, Harvey Elliott and Andy Robertson respectively.

Hip surgery has ended Thiago’s season, while Bobby Firmino and Naby Keita continue to work towards full fitness.

But Klopp seems to be pretty happy with his starting line-up right now, with Henderson acting as the perfect foil on the right-hand side given Alexander-Arnold’s free role from right back.

You’d expect Robertson to return at left back, while the form Diaz has shown since his return makes him un-droppable (or indeed un-restable).

The only real choice Klopp has to make is with his centre forward, with Gakpo, Jota and Nunez all in contention. Perhaps Gakpo is slightly ahead at the front of the queue….

Brentford Form

Although Brighton will take most of the plaudits for over-achievement this season, the ease with which Brentford have avoided relegation on a shoestring budget is nothing short of revelatory.

A top-ten finish is very much in the offing, although to kick on to the next level they will need to improve their away form – they’ve taken just 19 of their 50-point tally on the road.

Their formline – W2 D1 L3 – is perhaps as expected from a mid-table side, although the xG count suggests they should have beaten Newcastle (they lost 1-2), Wolves (they lost 0-2) and Aston Villa (they drew 1-1), so the Bees are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Liverpool v Brentford Betting Tips

Brentford have served up 1.50 of xG or more in four of their last five outings, and that has come in games where they haven’t dominated possession – therefore, they are creating good goalscoring opportunities without the ball.

Liverpool kept a rare clean sheet on Wednesday and were largely untroubled by Fulham, but Brentford have proven themselves to have quality in the final third so goals are once again on the agenda at Anfield.

There’s just enough value in odds of 5/6 about Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score to get involved, although 4/9 about a Liverpool win is unbackable given Brentford’s quality and resolve.

The Bees’ 3-1 win over Liverpool, matched by an okay record of W2 D1 L4 against top-four sides this term, suggests they can be entrusted with an Asian handicap line of +1.25 at 5/6.