Liverpool’s lineup
Due to fitness doubts, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexander Isak won’t make the starting XI this time. In Isak’s absence we’ll look to Hugo Ekitiké, who has been in good form, to step up. As for Gravenberch, while he is difficult to replace, Curtis Jones has been impressing recently and is likely to combine with Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield to maintain balance.
With goalkeeper Alisson Becker still sidelined, the player between the posts will be Giorgi Mamardashvili, and the defensive line-up will consist of Miloš Kerkez, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Conor Bradley.
How manager Arne Slot decides to utilise Joe Gomez remains a key question — with a cup fixture approaching, perhaps Gomez is being reserved for that.
Up front the attacking line-up features Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitiké and Mohamed Salah, with the creative influence of Florian Wirtz expected to join in. In the recent Champions League fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt, Salah started from the bench — Slot has re-restored him to the starting XI here, and it remains to be seen if Mo will respond with an assertive performance.
Both Curtis and Dom offer attacking strengths and may push higher up when the opportunities arise. However, one of Liverpool’s challenges this season has been that highly fluid attacking movement has sometimes worked against them defensively — the question now is how to make such movement serve both attack and defence effectively.
As for Wirtz, he gained a good feel for the team in the Frankfurt fixture and now has a chance in this match to solidify his contribution. He is demonstrably talented and possesses great vision — if he plays with confidence, he can certainly add value for Liverpool.
Brentford’s lineup
For Brentford, we note that Mark Flekken, Sepp van den Berg and Jordan Henderson are in the starting XI, and Tosin Adarabioyo is among the substitutes — they are certainly a formidable opponent.
Final thoughts
For Liverpool- there is always the demand for results. That is the principle. And yet this season, in many respects, Liverpool is a new team. I want to continue watching how the squad grows and evolves.
With the match involving Brentford, we anticipate an emotional encounter on the pitch. Let’s hope it becomes a strong performance.
