Brentford head to Anfield on Saturday for the penultimate away game of the campaign.
Both sides head into the fixture on the back of winning runs. Five-straight victories have lifted Liverpool up to fifth, while the Bees are nine points and four places behind the Reds with four to play.
Get all the build-up to Saturday evening’s game below.
The opposition
Reds finding form at the end of a disappointing season
While Liverpool will end this season trophyless, their recent impressive form suggests that Jurgen Klopp is beginning to get a proper tune out of the men from Anfield.
Fighting on four fronts last season saw Liverpool play 63 matches in all competitions, and Jurgen Klopp’s men simply looked unable to play with the same intensity when this season rolled around.
On top of that, there was the departure of Sadio Mane, form and fitness issues around Virgil Van Dijk, Joel Matip, Thiago, Mo Salah and Diogo Jota, and the slow start from summer signing Darwin Nunez.
That all combined for a sluggish opening to the season for the Reds. Liverpool took just 16 points from their opening 12 games, to sit ninth in the table heading into November.
A four-game winning run around the World Cup hinted at a strong second half to the campaign but, starting with their 3-1 defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium on 2 January, Liverpool then went four without a win to fall away once again.
Fits and starts of form have summed up Liverpool’s season. Their longest unbeaten spell is the seven-game run which they are currently on. They’ve also registered four and five-game unbeaten spells which they’ve then followed up with runs of four games without a win.
When it has gone right for Liverpool, it has been spectacular. They put nine past Bournemouth in August, seven past Manchester United at Anfield in March, and six away at Leeds United last month.
However, they’ve also lost away at Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as a shock home defeat to Leeds United.
In cup competitions, they were knocked out by Real Madrid 6-2 on aggregate in the last 16 of the Champions League, while their FA Cup and Carabao Cup runs were both ended at the fourth-round stage by Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City, respectively.
Following their 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, only Manchester City and Arsenal have scored more goals than Liverpool (66), but they’ve also conceded the most of anyone in the top eight, bar Spurs.
As mentioned at the top of the piece, recent signs have been positive with five-straight wins lifting them to fifth.
Mo Salah has 10 goals in 11 Premier League games to take his tally to 18 for the season, January arrival Cody Gakpo has four goal contributions in his last four matches and, in his new midfield role, Trent Alexander-Arnold has six assists in five games.
While the Champions League spots may be out of reach, Liverpool are four points off fourth having played two games more, and a strong finish would ensure Europa League football next season and a platform to build on in 2023/24.
Team news
Ajer available for Liverpool clash
Thomas Frank has confirmed that Kristoffer Ajer will available for our visit to Anfield to face Liverpool on Saturday.
Ajer's last appearance came at Arsenal in early February and he has failed to make a first-team squad since March due to a calf problem.
However, the Norwegian played 70 minutes for the B team in their 2-1 Premier League Cup victory last Thursday and could feature at Anfield this weekend.
Pontus Jansson (hamstring) and Thomas Strakosha (calf) will both be unavailable, while Christian Norgaard (Achilles) and Keane Lewis-Potter (knee) are likely to miss the rest of the season.
Liverpool's Diogo Jota missed Wednesday’s game at home to Fulham with a knock.
Roberto Firmino and Naby Keita are not back in contention following muscle injuries while Calvin Ramsey (Knee) and Stefan Bajcetic (adductor) are out for the season.
In the Dugout
Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp was a utility player during his professional days, the large majority spent at Mainz in Germany.
Retiring in 2001, he became the manager of Mainz, winning promotion to the Bundesliga three years later.
Relegation came in 2007, with Klopp resigning a year later after failing to get them back to the top flight. He was the longest-serving manager in club history.
He joined Borussia Dortmund, guiding them to the Bundesliga title in 2011, and followed that up with Dortmund's first-ever domestic double a year later.
Klopp also took Dortmund to the 2013 Champions League final, losing to Bayern Munich at Wembley, before leaving in 2015, again as their longest-serving manager.
Arriving at Anfield, Klopp took the Reds to back-to-back Champions League finals, winning the second in 2019.
The following season, Liverpool captured the UEFA Super Cup and a first FIFA Club World Cup. They also won the Premier League title, their first league honours in 30 years.
These achievements won Klopp back-to-back FIFA Coach of the Year awards in 2019 and 2020.
Last season he led Liverpool to Carabao Cup and FA Cup triumphs, second place in the Premier League, and the Champions League final.
Last meeting
Brentford 3 Liverpool 1 (Premier League, 2 January 2023)
Brentford beat Liverpool 3-1 to make it seven points from a possible nine over the festive period and climb to seventh in the Premier League.
Ibrahima Konate turned into his own net to give the Bees a 19th-minute lead, which Yoane Wissa doubled on the stroke of half-time.
Liverpool pulled one back through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain five minutes after the restart, but Brentford were not to be denied.
After keeping the Reds at bay, Bryan Mbeumo struck on the counter attack with six minutes to play to ensure a winning start to 2023.
Match officials
Brentford looking for fifth win in six under Anthony Taylor
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Graham Scott
VAR: Andre Marriner
Assistant VAR: Marc Perry
Anthony Taylor will take his sixth Brentford game this weekend, with the Bees registering wins in four of the previous five with him in charge.
It's been a steady journey for the Lancashire FA Official from the Northern Premier League to the top of the international game.
Manchester-born Taylor joined the ranks of EFL officials in 2006 before progressing to the select group one of top-flight officials for the 2010/11 season.
It was during those four years in the EFL that Taylor took charge of his first two Brentford games; both of which ended in 3-1 wins for Andy Scott's side, at Wrexham in December 2007 and at Shrewsbury in January 2009.
Between 2015 and 2018, Taylor took charge of a showpiece Wembley final every season and became the first man since Arthur Kingscott in 1901 to referee multiple FA Cup finals, when he oversaw Arsenal's 2-1 victory against Chelsea in May 2020.
At international level, Taylor has refereed the 2015 Under-19 European Championship final, the 2020/21 Super Cup, the 2020/21 Nations League final, and last month’s Club World Cup final between Real Madrid and Al-Hilal.
Last season, Taylor took charge of Brentford’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in October and March’s 3-1 win at Norwich City, before his sole game of this season so far came at home to Fulham in March.
Liverpool 22/23
333 fouls – 15th in Premier League
47 yellow cards – 16th in Premier League
1 red card – 9th in Premier League