Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Brentford could line up for Sunday’s Premier League match against Liverpool.
The possible inclusion or indeed exclusion of star striker Ivan Toney will dominate the Brentford-based headlines ahead of their Premier League clash with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
The England international was omitted from the squad for last weekend’s 2-1 win over London rivals Crystal Palace, with Thomas Frank confirming that his absence was transfer related.
Despite talk of a lucrative switch to Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli, Toney remains a Brentford player at the time of writing, but Frank may feel that playing him this weekend would be more a hindrance than a help.
Thankfully for the Danish coach, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa produced the goods against Palace in gameweek one, and the latter has now scored and assisted in each of his last three Premier League games.
Wissa could now become the first Premier League player in history to score and assist in four straight matches, while Mbeumo averages a goal involvement every 108 minutes when Toney does not play, compared to one every 250 minutes when he is involved.
The pair should join Kevin Schade in an unchanged attacking trident, as Fabio Carvalho warms the bench against his old club, while Mathias Jensen, Vitaly Janelt and Christian Norgaard form a recognisable engine room.
Frank should also see no need to alter the back four of Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer, Mads Roerslev and Nathan Collins in front of Mark Flekken, although Ben Mee and ex-Liverpool man Sepp van den Berg are viable options off the bench.
Rico Henry (knee), Igor Thiago (knee), Josh Dasilva (knee) and Aaron Hickey (thigh) make up a quartet of injury absentees for Brentford, and none should return before the September international break.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer; Norgaard, Janelt, Jensen; Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade
> Click here to see how Liverpool could line up for this match
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