Brentford

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool aren't exactly under pressure, but things are not hunky-dory.

Before Brentford's Yehor Yarmoliuk was sent off on Saturday, the Bees were leading and it looked likely to stay that way.

Important Reds are sidelined by injury. This is partly through bad luck but also partly the result of poor planning. With the club spending far too much on too few players, the squad has been left dangerously thin and it shows. It might not be as skeletal as Everton's, but it is still under-resourced, especially with a Champions League campaign to be fought.

The moment of the match for Liverpool, and maybe the most pivotal single moment of the weekend alongside Noni Madueke's goal for Arsenal, was that sending off.

Yarmoliuk had to go because the rules demand it, though I am pretty sure Jeremy Jacquet was not nearly as badly injured as he affected. It was all a sad outcome, particularly when considering the incident leading up to it.

Jacquet was winding Yarmoliuk up and had deliberately stuck his shoulder into the Brentford defender's face seconds before the headbutting reaction. Had Yarmoliuk gone down first, perhaps feigning a terrible injury of his own, the referee might have sent Jacquet off.

The Bees will have felt cheated, though it was gross naivety alongside bad luck. The Brentford man was nudged towards the Frenchman from behind at just the wrong moment.

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brentford and Liverpool.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Cliff: Brentford were the better team when it was 11 versus 11. First sending off cost us the game. I can't believe Liverpool had three £100m-plus players, but yet they we're so ordinary.

Graham: Unfortunately, I feel we are losing our discipline in games. I appreciate that these days you only have to breathe on somebody to get a booking, but that's the way it is. Why is it that it seems to be the same players every game?

Peter: Why was the crowd clapping Yehor Yarmolyuk off? We were in control of the game. Keith Andrews should not play him for the next three games after his red card ban. It might concentrate his mind. Such a stupid way to lose our unbeaten record.

Nigel: Very proud of the Bees. They kept attacking right until the 96th minute. Although we lost for the first time this season, I don't feel too upset after that performance.

Liverpool fans

Rae: So much potential but often so disjointed. Jeremy Jacquet is immense already and Florian Wirtz was creative, yet inconsistent. Alexander Isak becoming the player every one knows. Midfield, though, is still lightweight and needs a proper number six.

Sam: It always looked like we were going to lose this game, even against nine men and being a goal up. The complacency of the guys upfront and the loose passes throughout was shocking! I'm surprised we were able to get a win out of it and we're lucky we did.

Adam: Forget the beautiful game, what we lacked last year was that battling spirit and the ability to fight physical teams, so it was great to see so much of that across the pitch. Made up for Wirtz. Give the lad some credit.

Robbie: A bit of a laboured performance. Physical teams like Brentford don't suit Wirtz - another quiet game. Disappointed to see two more injuries. The plus side is that Victor Munoz and Rio Ngumoha are looking good and another solid display from Alexis Mac Allister. All in all, it was a hard-earned three points, but there are some hard games ahead. Liverpool must improve.

Brentford manager Keith Andrews, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "I felt comfortable and like we were growing into the game. Getting a bit more control of the game and momentum and belief about how we were playing. The sending off gives a bit of a leveller.

"I think we should do better [with the sending off]. I think Yarmolyuk needs to learn from that and he will. He's an amazing young man and I love him to bits. We need to look at ourselves."

"I felt good, I felt confident. I felt we were in a good place and were getting into that state. I think we had really good options to come into the game but the whole dynamic of the game changes within that. But we showed so much character, spirit, grit."

"I'm really disappointed we lost today, I have to be honest. We came into this game in a confident place. We underestimate no team in this league. We're a proper team, and we'll reset and go again."

Did you know?

• Brentford have scored first in all seven of their league games this season – it is the longest run by a team at the beginning of a Premier League campaign since 2011-12 (Manchester City - first 10, Manchester United - first 7).

• Yehor Yarmoliuk received his first red card on his 117th appearance for Brentford across all competitions.

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Image source, PA Media

Brentford manager Keith Andrews will have been satisfied with his side's performance and effort, but it was all undermined by one moment of ill-discipline from their Ukraine midfielder Yehor Yarmoliuk.

The Bees had been relatively untroubled and deservedly led through Keane Lewis-Potter's header, but were facing an uphill struggle once they were at a numerical disadvantage after Yarmoliuk tangled with Jeremy Jacquet as they waited for a corner to be taken.

It came at a crucial time, giving lacklustre Liverpool the opening it always seemed inevitable they would take.

Once Liverpool drew level Brentford were fighting a rearguard action rather than taking the game to Liverpool, as they had done in the opening half.

Brentford continued to battle against the odds, but ultimately Yarmoliuk's red card left them with too much to do.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Liverpool's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Everton v Chelsea (12:30)

• Brentford v Liverpool - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Fulham v Hull City

• Manchester City v Ipswich Town - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Newcastle United v Aston Villa (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

How to follow the Premier League weekend across the BBC

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Brentford v Liverpool" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Ipswichmatch", for example.

New this season: Live match updates

Fans of Premier League clubs can now get real-time scores live on their phone lock screen for every game.

Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

Find out more here

Image source, BBC Sport

New this season: Match of the Day Predictor

Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

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Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or on this link

Brentford have had an unbeaten start, and while I thought they were a bit lucky to get a draw at Aston Villa last week, they have plenty of momentum.

Liverpool got a big win on their travels in the Champions League against LASK on Wednesday but there are two ways to look at that result.

On one hand, they looked good going forward and it was great for Bradley Barcola to open his account with a hat-trick.

But, at the same time, they conceded three goals and they still have that vulnerability about them at the back.

If the Reds empty the midfield again in this game then they are going to be in trouble, because Brentford are quite direct and will keep looking to run in behind the Liverpool defence.

The sceptics will say Barcola needs to start delivering in the Premier League too, and Florian Wirtz has been taking a bit of a battering for his performances.

The question I asked on the Monday Night Club was: 'what kind of player actually is he?'

They have paid so much money for him but is he a dribbler? No. He's not the kind of player to shoot and score from the edge of the box either.

He has got an intelligent football brain but Liverpool wanted more than that. When you spend so much on a player, you want some numbers from him.

This is a tricky game for Liverpool, and I don't think they will win it. They definitely won't keep a clean sheet, either.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford bid to continue their unbeaten start to the season against a Liverpool side aiming to bounce back from a first loss of the campaign against Manchester City.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes going into their meeting at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

Brentford's draw at Aston Villa means they host Liverpool on Saturday as one of only three Premier League teams yet to lose this season, although the manner of the result at Villa Park was another reminder that their strong start could have been even better.

The Bees again dropped points from a winning position, having taken the lead after just 10 minutes through midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk only to go on to draw 2-2.

It means Keith Andrews' side have dropped more points after going ahead than any side other than Bournemouth in this Premier League campaign.

Brentford have trailed for fewer than six minutes in total this season – by far the lowest total of any team – but have won only two of their six matches (D4).

Part of the issue is the form of centre-forward Igor Thiago. Only Erling Haaland scored more than the Brazil international's 22 league goals last season, but Thiago has not been at his clinical best in 2026-27, netting only once from an expected goals tally of 3.2 – the biggest underperformance of any player so far.

Fourth-place Brentford, though, still face Liverpool ranked higher in the league table for the first time since 1938 and against a visiting time who lost for the first time under Andoni Iraola against Manchester City on Sunday, ending the Spaniard's 23-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

Incidentally, Iraola's lowest points-per-game tally as a Premier League manager is in this fixture, with his Bournemouth side failing to beat the Bees in all six meetings during his tenure at Vitality Stadium (D2, L4).

Liverpool bounced back from last weekend's loss at Anfield to beat LASK 6-3 in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Bradley Barcola scoring a first career hat-trick – his first Liverpool goals on his seventh appearance since joining for £123m from Paris St-Germain earlier this year.

While Barcola's performance is a welcome boon before a tough away fixture, Liverpool may look elsewhere for a potential match-winner.

Following a difficult debut campaign on Merseyside, Alexander Isak has scored four times in five league outings this season, while his record against Brentford is excellent.

The 27-year-old has scored in all four of his Premier League appearances against the Bees, including three at the Gtech.

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Gtech Community Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Andrews confirmed Kevin Schade and Jannik Schuster have been "back on the grass" after being substituted off with injuries last time out. It will be a case of "seeing how much they can do" on Saturday afternoon.

• He is "fully anticipating" Sepp van den Berg, Nathan Collins and Mikkel Damsgaard to be involved after recovering from different injuries. Overall, the squad is in "a really good place".

• On having "a really good squad and really good options" this season: "It is difficult picking a team, really difficult. The main message to the group has been that it is going to be a long season. If we want to achieve something really special, we are going to need everybody."

• Mamadou Sangare, who has not started the past two games, will be "right involved" against Liverpool. The central midfielder "lit it up in pre-season" and has been "outstanding" since signing a club-record deal in August.

• Dango Ouattara is still viewed as "vital part" of the team, despite "not quite being himself" this season with the Bees boss adding: "I've got no real concerns, though. Players aren't robots and things go on in their personal lives that can effect performances. He will prove to be a match-winner again pretty soon."

• On Brentford only trailing for five minutes in the Premier League this season: "We definitely don't like losing as a group, but we also try to play with a competitive nature. When we play with our edge, we are a really good side. It is an interesting stat, but it doesn't overly surprise me."

• He added: "The way we approach games is fearlessly. We know we have to stop the top teams playing the game they want and we have to try to imprint our game on them as much as possible."

• On whether the 'underdog' mindset is changing at Brentford: "It is a good question. I do think we've taken a step towards being a team that can give anybody a game on any day, but we can never lose sight of where this club has come from. The whole club is in a really good place at the moment, but we want to keep pushing."

• The Bees haven't suffered a defeat at Gtech Community Stadium since 25 January 2026 - and it is all part of Andrews' plan to make the ground "not a particularly nice place" to travel to for away sides.

• He added: "The home comforts and familiarity are nice for us. The fans have also been amazing this season. The energy they bring pre-game is very much appreciated by the players. Hopefully that continues against Liverpool."

• Andoni Iraola's style of play at the Reds is "similar but equally different" to his philosophy at Bournemouth, so he is expecting another "proper game" against the head coach on Saturday.

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary of Brentford v Liverpool from 15:00 BST on Saturday

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Content creator and Brentford fan Mike Johnson has been assessing Brentford's chances in the upcoming game against Liverpool at the weekend.

"Having watched Liverpool against Manchester City at the weekend and a few of their games this season, I do have to say I am not coming into the game with the usual Liverpool fear," he said.

"They're clearly a side in transition, and with a number of players due to miss out. I do back us to get a result.

"I don't think we will have the same joy as we had against Chelsea and Spurs from set-pieces.

"I think the more pertinent battle comes from midfield.

"Yes, Alexis Mac Allister has enjoyed a return to form, but without Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai possibly out, whoever starts in midfield for Brentford needs to be at it from the start.

"The big concern is injury to Kevin Schade. For me, Dango Ouattara has to come back into the starting XI. For one, he is the most Schade-like replacement and two, because he needs some confidence.

"That cameo against Aston Villa was quite painful to watch to be honest.

"You could see against Aston Villa, with every touch and every attack, that his belief is completely shot.

"Delaying the pass, overhitting the pass and not tracking back."

Listen to more from Mike by pressing play above or on BBC Sounds here

Rangers are under no pressure to sell centre-back Olwethu Makhanya in the next 12 months, but the 22-year-old South Africa defender is attracting interest from Italy and Spain while Brentford and Sunderland had scouts at Saturday's win over Kilmarnock. (Football Insider, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Aston Villa and Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Villa fans

Prit: Villa slowly and steadily improving, but we really need to finish the chances we create. It looks like Jackson and Manzambi are creating a strong partnership, but I am still concerned about our defence as teams easily go through them. But, Brentford have shown this season they are hard to play against. We lost to them three times last season and, while I would have liked to take the win, I am happy for the draw. Glass is still half full.

Luyimbaazi: The defence still needs to adjust. Maybe it's time for Taylor Harwood-Bellis to earn some minutes in the league, especially now the current defence seems to be in disarray. Hopefully we shall get to see Madjo too.

Alan: An improvement on the Nottingham Forest game but Villa couldn't match the intensity of a very physical Brentford, who will surprise a few this season. Totally inept refereeing didn't help much either for both sides, but particularly Villa in the first half. Fair result overall. On we go.

Gary: We need to remember that Villa are a side in rebuild mode and things will take time. We played a team high in confidence and on an unbeaten run, and we could have won the game with more ruthless finishing. That said, a draw was a fair result.

Brentford fans

Charlie: Good end-to-end football. We seemed to be closing them down in packs, quicker and in more numbers. Ref seemed a bit inconsistent on pushing and shoving and I think McGinn could have had a second yellow on more than one occasion.

Joe: While I'm pleased with the grit and the effort, it definitely looked like we were a bit out of sorts after a long international break. It felt like we'd lose out at every deflection or second ball and Villa attackers would regularly find themselves in a lot of space. Very happy that we kept ourselves in the game despite this and earned a valuable point.

Andy: Good second-half performance. Shame the ref was so bad - he spoiled what could and should have been three points for Brentford.

Stuart: A superb effort from the boys in yellow, showing great resilience to respond so quickly after McGinn's lucky deflected goal.

Everton hold the strongest interest in Rennes striker Esteban Lepaul, although Brentford, Aston Villa, Brighton and Leeds United have the 26-year-old France international on their radar. (Teamtalk, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It's another point on the board for impressive Brentford as they climb up to fourth in the league table.

Keith Andrews' side remain alongside Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton as the unbeaten sides this year.

In fact, the Bees have the longest unbeaten run in the top flight, with eight without loss.

Brentford will be disappointed with how quickly they let their lead slip but a point at Villa Park is one they will happily take, especially after staring defeat in the face in the second half.

Andrews will be thrilled with the desire from his side to get back into the game and they got their reward.

But with four draws in their opening six games, Andrews will be desperate to see them turned into wins - starting with next Saturday's home tie against Liverpool.

Brentford manager Keith Andrews, spoke to BBC Match of the Day after his side's draw against Aston Villa: "[I am] Torn to be honest. I liked a lot today - spirit, grit, determination. There was evidence of rustiness which is understandable but I don't like to use that as an excuse but the boys have been away for three weeks so it's trying to find the balance.

"Then we had Kevin's [Shade] injury, Jannik [Schuster] wasn't right and came off at half time, so we got tested today. But we're also up against a team who I thought were just starting to click before the international break. But the fact that we're disappointed coming away from home to a Champions League team who spend big money tells you a lot."

On Kevin Schade's injury: "He probably wasn't right at halt-time, he wanted to give it a go. He's picked up a shoulder injury so we'll see how he is in the next few days."

On rustiness: "It was strange at times, trying to find the rhythm which can be difficult and has been my main message since getting everyone back. Remembering what we are and what we do and not what they've done for their respective countries over the last few weeks. The boys aren't robots. It takes some time to do but the effort and the endeavour was there in abundance and I felt we could've nicked it."

On taking confidence from a good start to season: "We do. We've started well and we're content with a lot of aspects of what we're doing and how. We want to keep pushing hard and we are disappointed we could've played a bit better and maybe the result was there for us if we'd tidied up a few aspects of our game. Then it would have been a really good start to the season."

Did you know?

• Brentford are the first side since Liverpool in 2018-19 to opening the scoring in each of their first six Premier League games of a season, while the Bees are unbeaten when scoring first in their last 17 league matches; since November 2025 against Brighton (W10 D7).

• Brentford conceded 24 fouls against Aston Villa; it's the most by a side in a Premier League game since Southampton against Chelsea in February 2023 (25).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Aston Villa's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are six games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Arsenal v Leeds United (12:30)

• Aston Villa v Brentford - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Chelsea v Bournemouth - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Ipswich Town v Fulham

• Sunderland v Brighton

• Manchester United v Tottenham (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

How to follow the Premier League weekend across the BBC

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Manchester United v Tottenham" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Brentford match", for example.

New this season: Live match updates

Fans of Premier League clubs can now get real-time scores live on their phone lock screen for every game.

Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

Find out more here

Image source, BBC Sport

New this season: Match of the Day Predictor

Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

Players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or on this link

Brentford were one of the teams who definitely didn't want the international break, while I feel like it might have done Aston Villa the world of good.

They have made very different starts to the new season - Brentford are still unbeaten and, while I kept on predicting Villa would win, the only time I was right was when they beat Tottenham last time out.

Despite the difference in their form, I am going to stick with Villa here, even though the Bees have been seriously impressive so far.

Johan Manzambi is fit again and seems to have found his best form while playing for Switzerland. He could make the difference here too.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

Aston Villa are in danger of losing their opening three home league matches in a season for only the third time, having done so in 1946 and 1969.

Unbeaten opponents Brentford won 1-0 with 10 men at Villa Park last season to complete a first league double in this fixture.

Can Villa park the doubts?

A run of seven games in 22 days this month might not define Aston Villa's season but it is likely to shape it.

Were the winless opening four fixtures of the season a false start, with six core players having departed and only two of the replacements available and trusted to play regularly straight away?

Perhaps. Villa earned three successive away wins in as many competitions before the international break; the last of those, a 3-2 league victory at Spurs, marked the true start of a new era as – for the first time – more than half of Unai Emery's starting XI were summer signings.

Five of Villa's seven matches in October are at home, providing an opportunity to build momentum domestically and in Europe. However, Villa Park is no longer the "fortress" Emery was aptly able to describe it as for so long.

Since Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest in the new year to record an 11th straight home win, they have lost six of their subsequent 11 top-flight games in Birmingham. Only three Premier League ever-presents across this season and last have a worse home record over the same period.

It contrasts sharply with their home form over the preceding 34 months, which was in touching distance of being the best in the division. Villa's home decline began with back-to-back 1-0 defeats by Everton and Brentford, while the closure of the North Stand for redevelopment this season has led to a subdued atmosphere.

Brentford's record start

Brentford are fourth in the table on nine points, their highest tally at this stage of a top-flight season.

It is also the first time they have gone unbeaten in their opening five top-flight fixtures – the Bees last fared better 20 years ago in League One. To top it off, Brentford's current seven-match league run without defeat since May is the longest in the division.

A 3-0 derby dismantling of Chelsea last time out prompted head coach Keith Andrews to admit his side are "in a pretty good place", and he rewarded the players – or at least those not called up for international duty – with a week off.

Andrews has been enthused by Brentford's "unpredictable" ability to play in different ways, from controlling games through possession to defending deep and carrying a counter-attacking threat.

One constant, though, is that they don't fall behind. That is hardly surprising for a team yet to lose, but it is eye-catching that Brentford have trailed for a mere 0.6% of their five games so far. All of that is accounted for by the three minutes and 10 seconds between them going 2-1 down away to Bournemouth and equalising.

Melissa Edwards
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa at Villa Park (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Antoni Milambo and Josh Dasilva remain unavailable for selection, with Andrews saying Milambo has "been set back a tiny bit" on his recovery from a long-term knee injury.

• While Nathan Collins, Mikkel Damsgaard, Mathias Jensen, Dango Ouattara and Sepp van den Berg have been "in and around training" - with Collins, Van Den Berg and Jensen "closer to a return".

• The club opened up new contract talks with Kevin Schade during the international break, but Andrews said there is no update and it is not a situation the needs "urgent attention".

• Brentford are fourth in the Premier League table after beating Chelsea before the international fixtures. Andrews said losing so many of their players during the break was "far from ideal" in keeping up momentum, but he thinks it is an "amazing thing" when players represent their countries.

• On their position in the table compared with Villa, who are 16th, he said: "The league table is in its infancy for this season - we're only a few games in. To look at it as black and white as that, them being in a certain position and us in a higher position, is just part of the journey we're on. Each game brings its own merits and one win can swing the table in any direction."

• On facing Villa, he said: "[Unai Emery] is an exceptional coach. I thought they played well against Tottenham in the last game and clearly the work that they're doing is coming to fruition. We're very aware it's going to be a very difficult game. But equally, it's a game we're looking forward to playing."

• On Manchester City's guilty verdict, he said: "It's a huge situation for the Premier league to have to deal with. The fact it's still ongoing means it is wrong for me to dig too much in to that. I should respect where the authorities are with this and try to come to the right outcome, and I'm sure they will."

Listen to Saturday's full match commentary live on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 and BBC Sounds

Follow all of Fridays Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news