Anfield will host Brentford on Sunday afternoon (4pm BST) in a Premier League showdown packed with high stakes. A draw will secure Liverpool’s top-five finish and Champions League qualification for 2026-27, making this more than just another matchday. Here are 17 key stats from the Reds’ camp as they prepare for a decisive fixture.
Head-to-head and historical dominance
Liverpool and Brentford have clashed 24 times in all competitions, with the Reds winning 15 and the Bees prevailing just five times. The Merseyside side has scored in all but one of those encounters, underlining their historic edge.
In nine of their last 12 meetings across competitions, at least one side has found the net three times, suggesting a pattern of high-scoring clashes. Despite a narrow 3-2 reverse in the reverse fixture this season, Liverpool has never suffered consecutive league defeats to Brentford in their head-to-head history.
Milestone moments on the horizon
If Liverpool net twice on Sunday, they will reach the 150-goal mark in Premier League games under Arne Slot’s leadership. Meanwhile, Alexis Mac Allister could step onto the pitch for his 150th appearance for the club, adding another personal landmark to the fixture.
Mohamed Salah continues to defy expectations, boasting seven goals against Brentford in just eight meetings—the highest tally by any player in this fixture. His scoring rate stands at one goal every 95 minutes against the Bees, keeping him in elite company.
Salah is also poised to achieve a rare feat: becoming the first Liverpool player since Sadio Mané in 2020 to net the final goal of the season for two consecutive campaigns.
Indomitable home record and defensive resilience
Virgil van Dijk has been an ever-present force, playing every minute in 74 of Liverpool’s 75 Premier League games under Slot this season. Should he feature on Sunday, he will become the oldest outfield player to complete 100% of available minutes in a single Premier League campaign, surpassing John Terry’s record (aged 34 years and 168 days in 2014-15).
The Dutch defender has logged 4,851 minutes on the pitch across all competitions this season—the highest tally for an outfield player at Liverpool since Sami Hyypiä’s 5,205 minutes in 2005-06.
Liverpool’s unbeaten home streak in league campaigns spans 18 matches (15 wins, three draws) since their 2-0 loss to Arsenal in 1988-89, a run that has seen them avoid defeat in every final home game for over three decades.
Brentford’s struggles and rare triumphs
Brentford arrives at Anfield on the back of a disappointing run, having won just one of their last nine Premier League matches (six draws, two losses), with their only victory a 3-0 home triumph over West Ham United earlier this month.
Their last league win against a top-half side came in 2023, when they edged Manchester City 1-0—a performance that remains a standout achievement in their recent history.
Historically, Brentford has struggled away to Liverpool, failing to score in six consecutive trips to Anfield. Their previous unbeaten start to a top-flight campaign against the Reds dates back to 1936-37, when they avoided defeat in three straight away games (one win, two draws).
Key individual performances
Igor Thiago has been Brentford’s standout performer this season, netting 22 of the team’s 54 Premier League goals—a 41% share that ranks among the highest single-season contributions in the division since Harry Kane’s 30-goal haul for Tottenham in 2023 (43% of Spurs’ total).
Newly appointed Brentford manager Keith Andrews brings a personal connection to the fixture, having faced Liverpool five times as a player, scoring once in a 2-1 defeat for Blackburn Rovers in February 2010.
The Bees are also chasing a historic top-half finish, sitting on the cusp of their best-ever Premier League campaign. After finishing 13th, ninth, 16th, and 10th in their first four top-flight seasons since 2021, Sunday’s result could define their trajectory.
