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Thomas Frank on Ivan Toni’s absence: “He was close to being on the bench,” Brentford manager tells Sky Sports. “Ivan is a monster, able to handle a lot of pain or worry and so on. It was too close today and I actually think with a day or two more he could have done it. We expect him to be close to being available for West Ham [in the FA Cup on Saturday].”
Ivan Toni is not in the Brentford squad
Those squads: Despite Thomas Frank’s upbeat statement yesterday, Ivan Toney is not in the squad for the Brentford game and who’s to say the Dane isn’t just messing with Liverpool’s minds when he says the striker will be fine for today’s game. In other Brentford news, midfielder Josh Dasilva drops to the bench, while Ioane Visa and Vitaly Yanelt start.
Kostas Tsimikas comes in at left-back for Liverpool in place of Andy Robertson, while Ibrahima Konate replaces Joel Matip at the heart of their defence. Fabinho returns in place of Jordan Henderson, who is out with a concussion. New signing Cody Gakpo is not in the squad for the Liverpool match.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain starts his third successive game for Liverpool tonight for the first time since February 2020. Picture: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC/Getty Images
Updated at 16.49 GMT
Brentford vs Liverpool lineups
Brentford: Paradise; Jorgensen, Pinnock, Mee; Rørslev, Janelt, Norgaard, Jensen, Henry; Visa, Mbeumo.
Reserves: Strakosha, Canos, Dasilva, Godos, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Bech Sorensen, Krama, Trevitt.
Liverpool: Allison; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dyck, Tsimikas; Elliott, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Nunes, Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Subs: Kelleher, Gomes, Keita, Jones, Robertson, Carvalho, Matip, Baycetic, Phillips.
Liverpool: Virgil van Dijk said World Cup disappointment will fuel his desire for success with Liverpool and Holland in 2023, claiming anything is possible in what could prove to be a “very crazy” Premier League season. Andy Hunter reports…
Early team news
Despite being stretchered off with a knee injury during Brentford’s win over West Ham, Ivan Toni is at least in contention for a place on the bench, if not a starter today. “It’s good news with Ivan,” Thomas Frank said in yesterday’s pre-match press conference.
“It’s not a serious injury and he could potentially be available for tomorrow.” There’s nothing wrong with his knee. Without going into too much detail, it’s a muscle thing. The physical therapists explained the details to me and I completely forgot! I’m just glad it’s not serious.
Brentford left-back Aaron Hickey and centre-back Christopher Ayer are both on the road to injury recovery but will not be able to face Liverpool tonight. Shandon Baptiste has also been suspended.
While Liverpool wings Luis Diaz and Diogo Hota, midfielder Arthur and midfielder Curtis Jones remain out, Jurgen Klopp has fresh concerns over Harvey Elliott and Andy Robertson, who were both forced off in the win over Leicester.
James Milner and Roberto Firmino could be fit enough to play some part today after recovering from soft tissue injuries. Absent from the win against Leicester to attend the birth of his child, Fabinho is likely to return, while new signing Cody Gakpo from PSV is also eligible to play today, paperwork permitting.
Dutch international Cody Gakpo should be eligible to make his debut today, assuming his registration has been officially transferred from PSV to Liverpool. Photo: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Updated at 16.32 GMT
Premier League: Brentford vs Liverpool
Sixth in the table, 15 points behind league leaders Arsenal but just four behind fourth-placed Manchester United in the Champions League qualifiers, Liverpool travel to Brentford on the back of back-to-back, if not hugely impressive, festive wins over Aston Villa and Leicester City.
At Brentford, they face a side who are just five points behind them in 10th place and are also unbeaten since the league resumed after the World Cup. A draw against Tottenham followed by a win over West Ham means Thomas Frank’s side have every reason to be confident as they welcome their lofty opposition to the Brentford Community Stadium. Kick-off in west London is at 17:30 (GMT), but in the meantime stay tuned for team news and build-up.
Updated at 16.32 GMT
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