Arne Slot will make his Anfield debut on Sunday, August 25th as Liverpool will host the Brentford Bees. Liverpool got off to a strong start with an undefeated preseason and a win vs. Ipswich Town, which led to the campaign starting last week.
Bee Prepared
Like Liverpool, Brentford started the Premier League season with a win. They defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 and should be confident when facing the Reds. Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo found the back of the net in the victory, so Liverpool must make sure the pair of strikers are well marked. Brentford star Ivan Toney did not feature for the team last week amid transfer speculation, but former Red Fabio Carvalho did come off the bench and play well. I'm sure he will receive a warm welcome back to Anfield from the supporters.
Transfer & Injury News
Ironically, Sepp van den Berg recently completed a permanent transfer to Brentford less than 48 hours before the match is set to kick off. It is not known whether he will be available to feature in the upcoming match vs. Liverpool. Bobby Clark also completed a transfer to Redbul Salzburg as Slot continues to reshape the roster to fit his style. As for injuries, Jarell Quansah's availability is in doubt as he has been limited in training after a knock suffered vs.Ipswich.
Fascinating Facts
Liverpool have won their last five meetings with Brentford at Anfield, posting a clean sheet on each occasion. Arne Slot has the chance to be the first manager to win their opening two Premier League games with the club since Graeme Souness in 1991. Liverpool have not lost their opening game at Anfield in the last 20 seasons (15 wins and 5 draws).
LFC Globe Verdict
This will be a tougher game for Liverpool than a lot of the pundits think, The Reds are heavy favourites, but Brentford are more than capable of pulling off a shock victory with Wissa (three straight League matches with goals) and Mbeumo up front. I still think Liverpool pull out a 2-1 victory, however.
Where To Watch
Kickoff is set for 1630 BST from Anfield and will air on Sky Sports. American supporters can tune in for a 11:30 AM EST kickoff and the match will broadcast on NBC. Canadian viewers can stream via fuboTV.
A full list of streaming options is available by visiting LFC Globe's Live Streams page.