- Liverpool will welcome Brentford to Anfield for the final game of the 2025/26 season.
- Liverpool can finish the season between fourth and sixth, with the top five getting Champions League football.
- Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah will leave Liverpool following this clash.
Liverpool will bring an end to the 2025/26 season with a home fixture at Anfield this Sunday at 4 pm.
The match will bring an end to a disappointing season, which has seen the team drop off from league winners to needing a result in the final game to guarantee Champions League football.
This game will also see the departure of two Anfield legends in Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah, who both leave after nine seasons at the club.
A result in this game will be crucial for Liverpool to use as a rebuilding platform for next season after a poor year.
Liverpool’s 2025/26 injury crisis
Liverpool were hit with the biggest tragedy that any club could expect to face when they lost Diogo Jota in tragic circumstances at the beginning of July. The transfer window then saw Liverpool sacrifice a little in the way of depth to go for the record-breaking signings of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak and the star that is Hugo Ekitike.
The injury and fitness problems came early in the year with Alexander Isak. He came in with a lack of fitness due to his transfer strike. He only went on to start eight Premier League games this season.
Their injury worries continued at right-back throughout the year. Trent Alexander-Arnold was replaced by Jeremie Frimpong, who has only started 12 Premier League games this season, with some coming at right-wing. This led to Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones playing a lot of time at right-back.
Regular injuries to players like Alisson, Hugo Ekitike and Mohamed Salah stopped
Salah’s difficult season
Mohamed Salah broke an endless number of records in the Premier League last season, scoring 29 goals and providing 18 assists. A 47-goal contribution season that was unmatched in the competition’s history. The next best in the league last year was Alexander Isak with 29, who Liverpool went on to sign.
The drop-off between this year and last has been unprecedented.
While Salah broke the goal contribution records in 2024/25, no Liverpool player falls within the top 10 for the league this year.
Salah went from 29 goals in the league to seven. He went from 18 assists to 6.
Overall, Liverpool’s goal-scoring abilities dropped from 86 to 62 with one game remaining.
This left it at the point where Salah and the club decided to let him leave at the end of this season, a year after he signed his two-year contract extension.
Liverpool vs Brentford: Recent form
Liverpool’s last five games: L-D-L-W-W
Liverpool have only picked up one point from their last three games. The losses to Aston Villa and Manchester United showed how Liverpool have struggled this year against teams at the top end of the table. Chelsea had lost six Premier League games in a row when they drew with Liverpool at Anfield.
Brentford’s last five games: D-L-W-L-D
Brentford have only won one of their last 10 matches, but have amazingly also only lost two games. They have drawn six of their last nine Premier League games and also drew the FA Cup match with West Ham, before getting defeated on penalties.
What’s at stake after Liverpool vs Brentford?
For Liverpool, there is lots left to play for in this game. A point will guarantee them Champions League football and a fifth-placed finish. A win could see them overtake Aston Villa in fourth, if Villa lose to Man City in Pep Guardiola’s final game as City manager.
A loss could see them drop out of the Champions League places.
Brentford are on the cusp of European football and would likely need a win to push into the top eight, which could see them enter the Conference League.
Arne Slot’s managerial plan
Slot has had his managerial tactics called into question throughout the year. Liverpool won the first five games, but in those games required a variety of late winners, and in these games had on several occasions thrown away two-goal leads.Mohamed Salah took to social media after the Aston Villa defeat to share his disappointment at the style of play this season. Slot hit back in his press conference ahead of this game, and spoke on how football has changed a lot from last year, and the same style of play wouldn’t work in the same way.
