Anfield beckons for the Bees of Brentford on Sunday but the buzz surely hums around the man in the home dugout, Arne Slot, who’s making his bow in front of his new home crowd as Liverpool play their post-Klopp Premier League game on Merseyside.
Ex-Kop hero Peter Crouch is all aflutter about the occasion as he gives us his thoughts and pick of the bets on Liverpool v Brentford, where, as we’re sure you know by now, our smashing Super Sub offer keeps your players bets rolling even if your selection is subbed off…
Liverpool v Brentford Betting Tips
Liverpool to win
Yoane Wissa to have 1+ shots on target
Diogo Jota to score
Trent Alexander-Arnold to assist
- A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 8/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
WHEN: Sunday, August 25 – 4:30pm
WHERE: Anfield, Liverpool
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
In the first-half I was concerned about Liverpool. They made some sloppy passes and it was not great.
When we spoke to Arne Slot after the game on TNT, I liked how ruthless he was. He seems a nice bloke but he showed he has a steely side too when he took off Jarell Quansah.
It would’ve been easy to come out afterwards and say it was a great performance in the second-half, but he was open and honest about how poor the first-half had been.
It’s massively disappointing for Quansah. I think the change wasn’t just about him, it could’ve been any number of players in that first-half. Sometimes you’re the fall guy when you’re a young player coming through and just in your first or second season in the squad.
He was sitting on the bench right in front of me in the second-half and he was devastated. We weren’t sure during the game if it was an injury, but the manager confirmed that it was because he was losing too many duels, and if you’re losing those it doesn’t matter how good a footballer you are, you’re losing the ball.
I was very impressed by Liverpool in the second half though. It was as good football as I’ve seen them play! They were fantastic. Trent’s passing was great, Gravenberch in midfield played really well. Salah was sharp, Diaz looked good. In the second 45 they were great.
Of course, it’s against a promoted side in Ipswich, so Liverpool should be beating them, but I really thought it could’ve ended up 4 or 5-0 after half-time.
Considering Jurgen Klopp was such a big figure – a legend really – everyone would reasonably enough be concerned about the changes at the club, and this is just one game, but all the noises coming out seem to be that it’s going smoothly so far, they’ve had a good preseason and taken care of the first match.
Slot will have wanted to make signings by now. It’s obvious he wanted to get Zubimendi from Sociedad for that defensive midfield role. There is a slight frustration at that.
And, as a player, when you see new players coming in, the standard of training goes up, there’s more competition for places and a rise in quality in a squad.
But they still have a good enough squad to compete for the top four, I’ve no doubt about that.
Liverpool to win
And they should win on Sunday in Slot’s first home game. that’ll give this game a real sense of an occasion and Liverpool should go out all guns blazing.
They’ll start the game properly this weekend. I don’t think the manager will tolerate another slow start and that means Brentford will be in for a real game.
Yoane Wissa to have 1+ shots on target
I would slightly worry about Brentford this season. They got a good result against Palace last week but with Ivan Toney looking like he’s off and being left out the squad it’s not ideal.
I thought someone like Arsenal or Man United would be in for him as he guarantees Premier League goals, but it looks like he could end up with a Saudi team, which is sad for him in a way as he’s worked so hard to make it up to the Premier League.
But I still think Brentford have goals in the side without him. They can really cause trouble with the pace of Wissa and Mbuemo up front. If the two of them stay fit they should be okay as the three teams that came up will probably go back down.
Liverpool leave themselves open at times and it should give Wissa an opportunity at some point to hit the target, if not score.
Diogo Jota to score
But Liverpool ought to win and you could see any of Mo Salah, Diogo Jota or Luis Diaz hit the net – I’d really like to see Diaz add more goals to his game this season because he’s such a good player but he needs to be more of a killer around the box like Salah.
Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo are big threats off the bench too, so Liverpool should get a couple at least. I fancy Jota to nab another one on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold to assist
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the obvious choice but some of his play against Ipswich was fantastic. He played a beautiful ball for Salah’s opener last week, and Jota missed a great chance he created too. Some of the deliveries and passes in the second-half were a joy to watch and he can do that against Brentford this week too.
Crouchy’s Liverpool v Brentford Bet Builder
Liverpool to win
Yoane Wissa to have 1+ shots on target
Diogo Jota to score
Trent Alexander-Arnold to assist
A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 8/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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