Brentford bid to continue their unbeaten start to the season against a Liverpool side aiming to bounce back from a first loss of the campaign against Manchester City.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes going into their meeting at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

Brentford's draw at Aston Villa means they host Liverpool on Saturday as one of only three Premier League teams yet to lose this season, although the manner of the result at Villa Park was another reminder that their strong start could have been even better.

The Bees again dropped points from a winning position, having taken the lead after just 10 minutes through midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk only to go on to draw 2-2.

It means Keith Andrews' side have dropped more points after going ahead than any side other than Bournemouth in this Premier League campaign.

Brentford have trailed for fewer than six minutes in total this season – by far the lowest total of any team – but have won only two of their six matches (D4).

Part of the issue is the form of centre-forward Igor Thiago. Only Erling Haaland scored more than the Brazil international's 22 league goals last season, but Thiago has not been at his clinical best in 2026-27, netting only once from an expected goals tally of 3.2 – the biggest underperformance of any player so far.

Fourth-place Brentford, though, still face Liverpool ranked higher in the league table for the first time since 1938 and against a visiting time who lost for the first time under Andoni Iraola against Manchester City on Sunday, ending the Spaniard's 23-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

Incidentally, Iraola's lowest points-per-game tally as a Premier League manager is in this fixture, with his Bournemouth side failing to beat the Bees in all six meetings during his tenure at Vitality Stadium (D2, L4).

Liverpool bounced back from last weekend's loss at Anfield to beat LASK 6-3 in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Bradley Barcola scoring a first career hat-trick – his first Liverpool goals on his seventh appearance since joining for £123m from Paris St-Germain earlier this year.

While Barcola's performance is a welcome boon before a tough away fixture, Liverpool may look elsewhere for a potential match-winner.

Following a difficult debut campaign on Merseyside, Alexander Isak has scored four times in five league outings this season, while his record against Brentford is excellent.

The 27-year-old has scored in all four of his Premier League appearances against the Bees, including three at the Gtech.