Steven Gerrard knows a thing or two about navigating high-stakes Premier League away days, but as Liverpool head to the Gtech Community Stadium to face an unbeaten Brentford, the legendary former Reds skipper sees major tactical hurdles ahead.
With Andoni Iraola’s squad stretched by injuries and suspensions, can the Reds find a way through, or is West London set to deliver another uncomfortable afternoon?
There is no sugarcoating it: trips to the Gtech Community Stadium have become some of the trickiest assignments on Liverpool's calendar.
Since Brentford's promotion to the top flight, the Reds have found West London far from welcoming, claiming just two victories in five visits to the Gtech.
As Liverpool prepare for Saturday afternoon’s encounter, former Anfield captain Steven Gerrard took his seat alongside Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist on the TNT Sports prediction show bus.
Known for his unwavering backing of the Reds, Gerrard was direct about the significant hurdles facing Andoni Iraola's side.
Liverpool travel down to West London attempting to balance two very different realities. In midweek, Iraola’s men put on a stunning display in Europe, storming to a wild 6-3 Champions League victory over LASK in Austria, led by a Bradley Barcola hat-trick along with goals from Ronald Araújo, Jeremie Frimpong, and Lewis Koumas.
Yet in domestic action, the memory of last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester City remains fresh. Facing a Brentford side sitting fourth in the Premier League table and boasting an unbeaten home record, the challenge facing Liverpool is substantial.
Overall Record at the Gtech Community Stadium (Premier League era): 2 Wins, 1 Draw, 2 Defeats.
"In the current circumstances": What Stevie said on the bus
Relaxing on the TNT team bus, Darren Fletcher tee’d up the former Liverpool captain, fully aware of his club loyalties.
"Steve is going to do Brentford Liverpool for me," Fletcher bantered. "And I can guarantee you one thing, he ain't going for a Brentford win. That won't be."
Gerrard agreed that a home win was off the table, but pointed straight to Liverpool's growing availability crisis before revealing his score prediction:
"What I would say is I think it's a really difficult game for Liverpool in the circumstances with a lot of forward players out and injured. There is rumours that Szoboszlai could scrape through which would be a big help. Um and I think all things considered I think it could be a draw, a score draw. I know. So, what do you think? 1-1. We're going one at this end."
Having locked in his 1-1 score draw, Gerrard shifted his focus to fellow pundit Owen Hargreaves, who was making a late appearance:
"Just to let you know as well, Owen Hargreaves is currently in makeup. And when Owen Hargreaves comes out of makeup, he's going to... he's doing one as well. We just got to work out if there's enough foundation left to get him sorted for the match tonight. I've got that down as a 90-minute job."
Looking at the squad list ahead of kickoff, it’s hard to fault Stevie's realism.
Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, and Dominik Szoboszlai were all left out vs Manchester City and LASK after the international break. While Iraola hasn't completely closed the door on their inclusion, time is against them.
"It's early for us to say [on injury returns]," Iraola stated during his press conference. "We have tomorrow in training, they weren't ready last night [against LASK]. We have to wait and see. I leave the chance open…"
Adding to Iraola's problems, Ryan Gravenberch is unavailable due to suspension following two yellow cards against Manchester City.
If Szoboszlai isn't fit enough to feature in midfield, Iraola will have to adapt. Dropping Florian Wirtz into a deeper role would take away Liverpool’s main threat higher up the pitch, while starting 19-year-old Trey Nyoni would represent a big test for the academy player.
A 1-1 draw away to Brentford might not look ideal on paper, but given Liverpool's mixed record at the Gtech Community Stadium, midweek European travels, multiple missing attackers, and a suspended central midfielder, coming back from West London with a point could be a respectable outcome.
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