Liverpool have started to wobble a little in the Premier League title race and will be determined to avoid another slip when they visit Brentford.
While Arne Slot's men remain heavy favourites to get their hands on the crown, their form has tailed off in recent weeks, with just three wins in their last seven league games.
The latest dropped points came at Nottingham Forest in midweek, with Diogo Jota coming off the bench to salvage a point in a game where a corner bet landed for me.
Slot will be desperate to rediscover their relentless early-season form but this is another potential banana skin after Brentford came from 2-0 down to salvage a point against Manchester City on Tuesday.
It looked like the Bees would slump to a fourth successive home defeat but they dug deep and netted twice in the last eight minutes for a much needed confidence boost.
Thomas Frank continues to do an excellent job at Brentford and Liverpool will need to be back to their best to emerge from the Gtech Stadium with all three points.
How the bookies view it: Slot machine to pay out
Despite their patchy form, Liverpool are heavy favourites for this one at just 4/9 with BoyleSports. Brentford are 4/1 outsiders and the draw pays 15/4.
Recent head to head: Reds are romping it
Liverpool have dominated this fixture in recent seasons, winning nine of the last 11 meetings. Brentford's only victory during that run was a 3-1 home triumph in 2023 and they lost 2-0 at Anfield earlier this season.
Players to watch: Mbuemo looks overpriced
Bryan Mbuemo brought up a stats bet for Slips Tips in midweek and will be Brentford's biggest threat again. The Cameroonian looks overpriced for anytime scorer at 5/2 with BoyleSports and he's 5/4 with Bet365 to provide either a goal or an assist.
Slot will probably freshen things up after a tough midweek game and Jota will fancy his chances of starting after that crucial goal at the City Ground. The Portuguese striker is 5/4 for another goal here.
Probable line-ups
Brentford still have a lengthy injury list, with Kris Ajer, Josh Dasilva, Aaron Hickey, Ethan Pinnock, Igor Thiago, Ben Mee and Gustavo Nunes on the sidelines.
Darwin Nunez returns from suspension for Liverpool and Slot's only injury absentee is Joe Gomez, with Jarrel Quansah fit enough for a place on the bench in midweek.
Brentford: Flekken, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Roerslev, Norgaard, Jensen, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Wissa, Mbeumo.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Tsimikas, Van Dijk, Konate, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Gakpo, Salah, Jota.
Anything else catch the eye?
Liverpool's defence looked so solid earlier in the season but they've kept just two clean sheets in their last nine outings. Brentford scored twice against Manchester City in midweek so we should see goals at both ends here.
BTTS is just 2/5 with BoyleSports so it's hard finding value with goals but adding on over 3.5 strikes boosts the odds to 11/10.
Both of Brentford's central midfielders were booked at Anfield earlier in the season so it could pay to back a repeat here. Cristian Norgaard is 12/5 at Bet365 to go into the book again while Mathias Jensen is much bigger at 11/2.
Going for Liverpool corners paid off for me on Tuesday as they won 9-0 on that count against Forest. This could be a similar kind of game so I like over 6.5 Reds flag kicks at 10/11 with Bet365.
This English Premier League match between Brentford and Liverpool will be played on Jan 18, 2025 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Brentford vs Liverpool prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
