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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 35
Liverpool v Brentford
Anfield
Liverpool, England
Saturday, 6 May 2023
Kick-off is at 18h30
Liverpool will look to continue their late push for
UEFA Champions League football when they welcome Brentford to Anfield in the late Premier League kick-off on Saturday, May 6.
The Reds' hopes of a top-four finish looked dead and buried at the start of April after suffering back-to-back defeats against Bournemouth (1-0) and Manchester City (4-1).
However, Jurgen Klopp's side embarked on a six-match unbeaten run and closed within seven points of Manchester United (4th) in fifth place following a dramatic 4-3 victory over Tottenham on Merseyside last Sunday.
They leapfrogged Spurs (6th) and Aston Villa (7th) in the standings with a fourth win on the spin and will attempt to go seven games undefeated in the league for the first time this season.
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The Bees trail the Merseyside giants by six points in ninth spot after securing back-to-back wins for the first time since January 14 as they beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium last Saturday.
Thomas Frank's team had failed to win their previous six matches but they've opened up a five-point gap to Fulham (10th) and are just two behind Brighton (8th).
Ivan Toney is enjoying a fine season in West London, having reached an impressive milestone with his goal against Forest, which took him to 20 for the first time in his top-flight career after scoring 12 last term. The England striker has now managed to score a goal every other game since February 11 and sits third in the Premier League scoring charts.
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Diogo Jota has been key to Liverpool's recent resurgence, scoring back-to-back braces against Leeds and Forest before netting a 94th-minute winner against Tottenham last time out. The Portuguese winger has also provided three assists since returning from a calf injury that sidelined him for 11 games.
In team news, the hosts continue to be without Pontus Jansson (thigh), Keane Lewis-Potter (knee), Thomas Strakosha, Christian Norgaard (both calf) and Kristoffer Ajer, while Calvin Ramsay (knee) and Stefan Bajcetic (groin) remain unavailable for the visitors. Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino will be assessed closer to kick-off.
Frank insists his players remain fully focused on the task at hand as they pursue a top-half finish to build on the 13th place they achieved on their debut in the top flight last term.
"I think the determination from the players during the game (against Forest) shows we're definitely not on the beach, we're definitely going to do everything we can to win as many games to the end of the season and it means everything to us to finish as high as possible and we are responsible to the other teams in the bottom of the league to do everything," the Dane said.
Klopp admitted they were guilty of taking their foot off the gas against Spurs after racing into a three-goal lead but paid tribute to his players for fighting until the final whistle as Jota popped up with a last-gasp winner.
"It's important, I think the last game showed pretty much everything, showed our situation, we are capable of doing really good stuff, liked it a lot, started the game, stuff like this," the German said.
"Misunderstood the scoresheet slightly, put the foot off the gas, wrong thing against Tottenham obviously, game opened up a lot, we had still much more possession, but they had now real chances; crossbar, post, all these kind of things, scored their goals.
"That we let that happen, we were guilty for that, that we could turn it around again all credit to the boys that they did that."
Head-to-Head (Previous Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 3
Liverpool - 1
Brentford - 1
Draws - 1
Matchday 35 fixtures:
Saturday, May 6
16h00: Bournemouth v Chelsea
16h00: Manchester City v Leeds United
16h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
16h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa
18h30: Liverpool v Brentford
Sunday, May 7
17h30: Newcastle United v Arsenal
20h00: West Ham United v Manchester United
Monday, May 8
16h00: Fulham v Leicester City
18h30: Brighton & Hove Albion v Everton
21h00: Nottingham Forest v Southampton
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