Brentford v Liverpool: Darwin to deliver in capital clash

• Toney might be missing for Brentford

• Market anticipating a goal-heavy game

• Darwin 'due one' after recent escapades

Brentford bag welcome win

Brentford boss Thomas Frank said he "can't praise his players enough" after their "incredible" 2-0 win against West Ham on Friday night. First-half goals from Ivan Toney and Josh Da Silva were enough to secure victory at the London Stadium and temporarily move the Bees into ninth in the Premier League standings.

Brentford rode their luck at times, with Declan Rice hitting the post and Dawson heading just wide before Toney's goal. And Frank was left frustrated with his team's first-half performance despite the positive result, though praised his players for their second-half display. Speaking post-match, Frank said:

"West Ham were better than us first=half. I think they started well, and we know goals change momentum. I think we were OK without being fantastic. Sorry, but I think we were rubbish on the ball, I thought we threw it away. Sometimes in the Premier League it's about taking your moments, and we certainly did that. The second half was much better."

The Bees could be missing star striker Toney for Monday's match. Brentford's key striker has now scored 12 goals in 16 Premier League games but was forced off on a stretcher after landing awkwardly and injuring his knee following an aerial challenge with Craig Dawson.

Klopp demands more despite Liverpool win

Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool must improve their performances after a narrow 2-1 win against Leicester on Friday. The Reds fell behind inside five minutes at Anfield but two own goals from Wout Faes helped the Merseysiders respond before the break, and the hosts did just enough in the second period to emerge with top honours from a tight contest.

Klopp insists his team must step up their displays in the New Year, starting at Brentford. He said, "The result is very pleasing but it wasn't our best performance. We knew at half-time we had to improve. The second half was better, but they still had their moments because we were too open. We have to take the result momentum, but we have to play better."

Liverpool will hope to have Fabinho back in the fold for Monday's trip to the capital, although new signing Cody Gakpo looks unlikely to feature unless formal paperwork can be completed in-time. James Milner, Curtis Jones and Roberto Firmino are all close to returning, whilst Ibrahima Konata and Naby Keita were back on the bench against Leicester.

Reds firm favourites

Brentford are winless in their last nine meetings with Liverpool across all competitions, a run that dates all the way back to a 2-1 home success in November 1938 (W0-D2-L7). Meanwhile, the two teams have met just five times since October 1983, but the Reds have managed to notch a minimum of three goals in each of those last five fixtures.

Brentford 6.005/1 have won their opening league game in each of the last three calendar years and come into this clash with only four Premier League defeats this term, including a solitary reverse on home soil. However, Ivan Toney has been directly involved in 16 goals in his last 19 home league appearances and his potential absence would be a major blow.

Surprisingly, Liverpool 1.584/7 have only won their opening league game in two of the last eight calendar years, although the Reds are in the midst of their best run of Premier League results this term having won four on the spin. The visitors have scored in each of their past 26 away Premier League matches in London, a run that stetches back to August 2018.

Darwin can deliver for Reds

Over 2.5 Goals has been chalked up at 1.625/8 and has paid out in all five of Brentford's tussles with the current top-six. Games against Manchester United (4-0), Arsenal (0-3) and Tottenham (2-2) have all proven to be entertaining affairs and with five of Liverpool's seven away days following suit, another goal-heavy clash could well be in the offing here.

A more appealing option could be to support Darwin Nunez to Score at Anytime at 2.305/4. The Uruguayan has fired in 13 efforts at goal across his two appearances since the World Cup break without success and has now attempted an unprecedented 52 shots in 12 appearances at a rate of one every 15 minutes for the Reds in the Premier League.

Nunez is returning a 0.75 Expected Goals (xG) per-90 minutes figure and should be due a sixth league strike of the season should he continue to wreak havoc on opposition defences.