1 week ago
9
Liverpool’s Premier League encounter against Brentford will be something of a venture into the unknown.
In all eight of its previous Premier League meetings, the Reds have faced Thomas Frank’s multi-faceted team. But things are a little different at the Gtech Community Stadium now. The Dane’s departure to Tottenham over the summer means Brentford is still adjusting to its biggest change since gaining promotion to the top flight in 2021.
Frank’s replacement Keith Andrews has made a solid start to life as Premier League head coach, since transitioning from set-piece coach. Yet, had the Bees lost on Monday against West Ham, they would have headed into the weekend in the relegation zone.
But a convincing 2-0 win at the London Stadium underlined how daunting a challenge Brentford will pose on Saturday. It managed 17 shots against West Ham, amassed 57 percent of possession, and completed 400 passes compared to the opposition’s 263.
Andrews has also tweaked Brentford’s deployment of long throws, set-pieces and counter-attacks and is seeing some early rewards.
But while Liverpool will need to adjust to this new-look Brentford, four players, at least, need no introduction.
It feels like a long time has passed since Jordan Henderson’s controversial departure to Saudi Arabia in 2023, but the midfielder is yet to face Liverpool since his slightly acrimonious exit.
Henderson admitted he was disappointed by the nature of his transfer to Al-Ettifaq, which made a Liverpool farewell impossible, but the 2020 title-winning captain will no doubt show his appreciation for the away fans on Saturday.
He won’t be the only Brentford player heading over to applaud the opposition fans after the full-time whistle.
Caoimhin Kelleher is another ex-Red who will face Liverpool for the first time on Saturday. The Ireland goalkeeper moved to Brentford over the summer for a fee of up to £18 million ($24M) after Mark Flekken signed for Bayer Leverkusen.
The 26-year-old established himself as perhaps the best No. 2 keeper in the Premier League during his time on Merseyside and proved to be a reliable deputy when Alisson was unavailable.
Having graduated through the club’s academy, Kelleher played 67 times for Liverpool and earned two Premier League winners’ medals.
Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho make up the cohort of ex-Liverpool men in the Brentford side. The former managed just four appearances for the club and spent four spells on loan during his five-year stint with the Reds.
As for Carvalho, he made 21 appearances and netted a memorable winner against Newcastle United in August 2022.
Given its early promise, the 23-year-old’s career has stalled somewhat in recent seasons. Carvalho has not started a Premier League match since the opening weekend of the season.
English (US) ·