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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 12
Liverpool v Brentford
Anfield
Liverpool, England
Sunday, 12 November 2023
Kick-off is at 14h00
Brentford will attempt to keep the momentum going in the
Premier League when they head to Anfield for a tough test against Liverpool on Sunday, November 12.
The Bees claimed a hard-fought 3-2 win over West Ham at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, November 4 move up to ninth in the standings, one point clear of London rivals Chelsea (10th) and Crystal Palace (11th).
It was a third consecutive victory for Thomas Frank's side, who have turned the corner after going winless in six games early on in the season.
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The Reds dropped more points in the title race after being held to a 1-1 draw by newcomers Luton at Kenilworth Road on Sunday, November 5, which saw them fall three behind league leaders Manchester City in third place.
Tottenham (2nd) and Arsenal (4th) both suffered their first defeats of the campaign, while Aston Villa also failed to capitalise as they lost as well on matchday 11.
Jurgen Klopp's side are unbeaten in their last four matches, but have only won two of their last five and failed to keep a clean sheet once more against the Hatters.
Darwin Nunez was Liverpool's most threatening player against Luton and had numerous chances to open the scoring before Tahith Chong put the hosts ahead 10 minutes from time. The Uruguayan striker hit the crossbar early on and blazed over from a good position inside the box, while also drawing a couple of fine saves out of Thomas Kaminski in a bid to add to his tally of four goals for the season.
Bryan Mbeumo impressed against the Hammers and was unfortunate not to get his name on the scoresheet after the opposition allowed him space to shoot on several occasions and narrowly missed the target each time. The Cameroon international had a hand in Brentford's second goal when his cross from the left was inadvertently headed in by Konstantinos Mavropanos under pressure from Nathan Collins.
Klopp isn't concerned with the chances Nunez missed, insisting he brings more to the team than just his goals.
"Darwin is 100 per cent in the team, it's just sometimes you cannot start again, so that's how it is, but then you come on. The first chance he had was really well done, great pass, first touch top and then he nails it on the crossbar," the German said.
"And in other moments is just how it is. The whole team was not in a goalscoring mood today obviously and that's then not helpful. But Darwin, what makes him really different is that he's involved in pretty much everything, so that's good."
Frank insists the fantastic culture within the squad is what sets them apart and gives them the belief to go on and win games from difficult positions.
"There's a lot of strong personalities in the group. We've created this good culture together, but I've said it many times: me, the coaches, the staff can push it to 80, maybe 90 per cent," the Dane said.
"But the last, and most important, 10 per cent comes from a fantastic culture, where they push each other, where they build this belief - that's down to the players."
Head-to-Head (Previous Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 4
Liverpool - 2
Brentford - 1
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 12 fixtures:
Saturday, November 11
12h30: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur
15h00: Arsenal v Burnley
15h00: Crystal Palace v Everton
15h00: Manchester United v Luton Town
17h30: Bournemouth v Newcastle United
Sunday, November 12
14h00: Aston Villa v Fulham
14h00: Brighton & Hove Albion v Sheffield United
14h00: Liverpool v Brentford
15h00: West Ham United v Nottingham Forest
16h30: Chelsea v Manchester City
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