Brentford face the third of their three away games in eight days this weekend, as they head to one of football’s best-known venues. The bees have visited Port Vale and Southampton over the past four days, with mixed results. Next up is a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday, January 16, in a game which starts at 2 p.m. ET.
The Bees won one and lost one of their two trips this week. A 4-1 Emirates FA Cup victory over Port Vale was followed by a 4-1 setback to Southampton last night. A goal from Vitaly Janelt was the culmination of a tough night for The Bees.
The loss has been Brentford’s heaviest of the season so far and has seen them slide below Southampton in the table. The Bees are 13th with 23 points in 20 games. They are at the back of the pack in a group of seven teams separated by six points.
The game at Liverpool is set to be one of the toughest of the campaign. Liverpool occupy third place in the Premier League table. They are one point behind Chelsea, with one game less, but are 11 worse off than leaders Manchester City. City, however, played a more game.
Liverpool have lost a fraction of the pace in recent weeks. They have taken just two points from their last three games and have seen a game against Leeds United postponed. Those three games, however, all took place away from home.
Liverpool are undefeated at home in the league this season, winning six of nine games. Only Manchester City, Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion avoided defeat. Liverpool have also beaten Shrewsbury Town at home in the FA Cup, are six out of six wins in their UEFA Champions League group and are in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. The first leg of this semi-final, against Arsenal, will be played tomorrow at Anfield, Thursday, January 13.
The teams have previously met in West London and shared the spoils in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Brentford scored first, thanks to Ethan Pinnock, then had to hit back. Vitaly Janelt and Yoane Wissa both scored goals in the second half to reduce the score to 2-2 and then 3-3.
Teams are infrequent enemies and this will be the first time they’ve played in the same division since 1947, when Brentford was relegated from the top flight, making just one comeback this season. The teams met ten times in five seasons in the 1930s and 1940s, Brentford winning three and Liverpool four. The Reds have won four cup games since, the last being an FA Cup sixth round game in 1989. It will be Brentford’s first visit to Anfield since that game in 1989.
Tickets for the match are sold out and it will not be shown live on UK TV, but Brentford fans can listen to it live on Bees Player. Complete information about the service can be found here. Fans of bees living abroad should check it out this page to see if they can watch the match live
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