The most interesting PL fixture this week, even for me, is the Chelsea showdown with Man City at Stamford Bridge. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u00a0CARE<\/strong>\u00a0a lot more about the LFC match. It\u2019s just not the most intellectually stimulating fixture of the weekend.\u00a0
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Nonetheless, the Reds have good reason to take Brentford quite seriously.\u00a0
Brentford is making its first appearance in the Premier League (i.e.<\/em>, the 1992-present incarnation of the top league in England), and last played in the \u201ctop flight\u201d of English football in 1947. After 75 years of waiting, Brentford\u2019s return has been auspicious so far.\u00a0
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Brentford have won two (Arsenal and Wolves), drawn two (Aston Villa and Crystal Palace), and lost one (Brighton). Even more impressively, Brentford have conceded only two goals in the PL, and their xGA is the second-best in the league \u2014 just behind Man City, and just ahead of LFC.\u00a0
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Brentford lines up in a 3-5-2 formation, and that alone scores cool points for creativity. \u00a0Although playing with three center backs has become more common in the PL, I believe Brentford is currently one of only two teams playing with three CBs and two strikers.\u00a0
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Against LFC, I\u2019m confident that Brentford\u2019s two wingbacks, who are considered part of the midfield five in the 3-5-2, will mostly be pushed back into defense. Assuming I\u2019m right, then they will be in more of a 5-3-2 shape tomorrow.
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I watched Brentford\u2019s match last weekend against Wolves. Brentford impressed on a number of fronts. They are a very well-coached team. For me (based on my extremely small observational sample), the most compelling aspect of Brentford\u2019s play is their transition from defense to attack. Their counters were extremely quick and frighteningly well-organized. Both of their strikers, Mbeumo and Toney, are fast, with good vision and passing skills, and great movement off the ball. Everyone in the team knows exactly where they are supposed to be at any given moment. On the counter they find space quickly, and they use it well.\u00a0
In defense, Brentford mix it up well. They mostly employ a mid-block press, and, as with their transition play, their pressure shows terrific organization. \u00a0When pressing triggers occur, three or four players will swarm, while the remaining players immediately adjust their shape to minimize risk if the press is broken. When pushed deeper, they will play with nine to eleven players behind the ball, but still poised to strike quickly on the counter. The two strikers remain close to one another in both defense and attack, which helps Brentford counter quickly. \u00a0Brentford\u2019s defenders also display impressive individual positioning and tackling skills. They are difficult to break down.
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All of the above suggests that Brentford could pose significant trouble for LFC. Occasional pressure mixed with well-organized deep defending, combined with quick transitions to a potent counter-attack, may be the classic LFC-busting paradigm. But, Brentford may have a few tendencies that play into LFC\u2019s hands. First, at least against Wolves, Brentford often tried to pass the ball out from the back, rather than hoofing it long. As AC Milan learned early in the CL match at Anfield, this is a very difficult proposition against LFC. However, I suspect that Brentford\u2019s excellent manager will account for this, and that Brentford will often look to bypass the pressure with well-constructed transitions that begin with a longer pass (and sometimes just hoofing and hoping).\u00a0
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The second Brentford tendency I observed that could help LFC is that its defenders often pushed closely up against the bodies of the players they were marking. With LFC\u2019s ability to play coordinated, one- or two-touch passes all over the pitch, Liverpool could take advantage of this Brentford habit by quickly working the ball behind the defense. But again, I suspect that manager Thomas Frank will realize the danger and coach this tendency out of his players for this match.\u00a0
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As for us, we are playing very well. \u00a0So far, we look like the team that relentlessly piled up points over an incredible 18-month period during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. But, the season will be long, and we have played only a few games. The hard part is maintaining the consistency over a period of months, as each new opponent brings a new set of challenges, and you play with a large target on your back every game.\u00a0
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Tomorrow, a few players will return from injury or illness to be available, and a couple will miss out. Firmino (hamstring), Trent (illness), and Neco Williams (foot) will all be back in the squad. Thiago (calf) and Ke\u00efta (ankle\/foot) are both out. Thiago will not return until some time after the international break, which starts after the Manchester City match a week from Sunday. Naby may be available for one or both of the next two matches before the break.\u00a0
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This week LFC plays at Brentford on Saturday, at Porto in the CL on Tuesday, and then at Anfield against Man City on Sunday.\u00a0
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I would guess that Klopp has a preferred lineup in mind for the match against Man City on Sunday, and that his lineups for Brentford and Porto will be constructed with that Man City match very much in mind. Team rotations over the past two weeks have illustrated that Klopp believes in his squad and his sports science team, and he intends to rotate the lineup when we play mid-week.\u00a0
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I expect to see JoGo and\/or Konat\u00e9 against Porto, along with Tsimikas and\/or Neco. I think Salah is likely to come off the bench either tomorrow or Tuesday, and I\u2019ll guess that Minamino earns his first start this season in a \u201cbig\u201d competition whenever that happens. If it does, I would expect Minamino to start on the left, and Man\u00e9 to move back to his old position on the right wing. With Firmino back, he and Jota will likely rotate for each other this week. I\u2019ll guess that Man\u00e9 will start all three matches, because he came off the bench two weeks ago against AC Milan. But, if that happens, I\u2019d also expect Klopp to bring on a sub for Man\u00e9 both today and Tuesday. \u00a0
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The midfield is anyone\u2019s guess, and it will depend in part on Ke\u00efta’s availability. Fabinho will need rest at some point, and I\u2019ll guess he drops to the bench on Tuesday. Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Curtis Jones will all play parts. Minamino could also make an appearance in midfield, although I don\u2019t really expect it.
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With all of that in mind, tomorrow\u2019s lineup becomes quite difficult to predict. But that won\u2019t stop me. My guess:

Scoreline:
Brentford 0 – LFC 2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most interesting PL fixture this week, even for me, is the Chelsea showdown with Man City at Stamford Bridge. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u00a0CARE\u00a0a lot more about the LFC match. It\u2019s just not the most intellectually stimulating fixture of the weekend.\u00a0 Nonetheless, the Reds have good reason to take Brentford quite seriously.\u00a0Brentford is making its first appearance in the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[44,17,14,18,23],"class_list":["post-92","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-match-previews","tag-brentford","tag-lfc","tag-liverpool-fc","tag-liverpool-football-club","tag-premier-league","entry entry-center"],"yoast_head":"\n