Arne Slot is not feeling the pressure ahead of his first Premier League match in charge of Liverpool at Anfield.
Liverpool beat Ipswich Town 2-0 at Portman Road in Slot's first competitive game last week.
Now attention turns to Anfield, with the Reds hosting Brentford on Sunday.
Slot is aiming to become the first Liverpool boss since Graeme Souness in April 1991 to win his opening two league matches, but the Dutchman is not nervous ahead of his competitive Anfield bow.
He said: "I'm hoping the fans can be twice as loud then as the Ipswich fans.
"I am not nervous at all, certainly not at this moment because I'm in the middle of preparation, prepare the team for Sunday and no nerves.
"It wouldn't be a good thing if you have nerves. I trust what me and my staff do to prepare the team in the best possible way."
Slot also says he is constantly learning about Liverpool's squad.
"I'm learning every day about the players as individuals and how they play together," Slot said.
"I learned last weekend how the players that didn't play on Saturday trained well on Sunday. They brought in a good training session.
"That will help them and us. I am still learning new things with the players. It is normal, I have only worked with them for three weeks."
Brentford beat Crystal Palace in their opening game, with the Bees winning 2-1 despite the absence of Ivan Toney, who was left out due to uncertainty over his immediate future.
Thomas Frank suggested the striker could be involved at Anfield, though acknowledged the situation over whether he stays or is sold is still unclear.
"Ivan trained the whole week, trained with a good attitude in every aspect. He could be involved, he could not be involved," Frank said.
"He could be here after the 30th [August] and he could not be here. Basically, everything is up in the air.
"I've said the whole time that if he's here I'm very happy, if he's not here then I'm happy on his behalf."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Liverpool - Mohamed Salah
Salah scored and assisted in Liverpool’s 2-0 Premier League win over Ipswich on MD1, the 32nd time he has done so in a game in the competition, level with Thierry Henry.
Only Wayne Rooney has both scored and assisted in more games in the history of the competition (36 games).
Brentford - Bryan Mbeumo
Mbeumo could make his 100th Premier League appearance in this game, becoming the fourth Brentford player to hit that mark.
The forward averages a goal or assist every 108 minutes in games he plays without Toney (14 goals, eight assists), compared to a goal involvement every 250 minutes in matches that feature him (nine goals, 13 assists).
MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN
Brentford’s last away Premier League match of 2023-24 was a 2-1 win at Bournemouth - the Bees have not won consecutive away games since winning their final away game of 2022-23 (3-1 vs Tottenham) and first away game of 2023-24 (3-0 vs Fulham).
Liverpool are looking to start their Premier League season with two consecutive wins for the first time since 2021-22, a season in which they started with an away win at a newly promoted East Anglian team (3-0 vs Norwich City).
The Reds have lost just two of their last 61 Premier League home games (W46 D13), while they have not lost at Anfield in the opening month of the season since 2015 (0-3 v West Ham).
In a run stretching back to 1939, Liverpool have won each of their last five home games against Brentford, keeping a clean sheet each time so it is no surprise to see Slot's team are the overwhelming favourites.
Brentford have won just one of their six Premier League meetings with Liverpool (D1 L4). At least one team has scored 3+ goals in five of those six games, with the exception being a 1-0 win for the Reds in May 2023.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Liverpool - 71.2%
Brentford - 12.6%
Draw - 16.2%
Brighton 2-1 Manchester United: Joao Pedro strikes late to earn Hurzeler first home win
Joao Pedro scored a stoppage-time winner to snatch a 2-1 win for Brighton over Manchester United at the Amex Stadium.
It looked like the points were set to be shared after Joshua Zirkzee was denied a winner, but Fabian Hurzeler's men dug deep to continue their winning start to the Premier League.
Amad Diallo had restored parity after Danny Welbeck's first-half strike, with Marcus Rashford and Zirkzee both having goals ruled out for offside.
But it was Joao Pedro who proved the difference in the end as he snuck in behind United's defence to head past Andre Onana in the 95th minute.
Brighton remain top of the early standings after two wins on six points, while United are in eighth, with rivals Liverpool next on the horizon for them.
Data Debrief: Welbeck haunts former club
While it was Joao Pedro who ultimately sealed the win for Brighton, Welbeck certainly made his mark against his former employers.
His first-half strike was the 100th goal of his club career in all competitions, while he's only scored more against West Ham (seven) than he has against United (six).
As for the Red Devils, they have lost more Premier League games thanks to goals in the 90th minute (plus stoppage time) than any other side (six) since 2022-23 - they had only lost two such games in the first 30 campaigns in the competitions combined.
'The most difficult window I've experienced' - Howe
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe claims this year’s summer transfer window is the toughest he has been through.
The Magpies have attempted to be active in the market but, despite the wealth at their disposal, have so far been unable to make the major moves they would have liked.
Their situation was complicated by a need to sell players in order to comply with the Premier League’s financial rules, with youngsters Yanukba Minteh and Elliot Anderson leaving in big-money switches to Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Newcastle have signed Lloyd Kelly, Odysseas Vlachodimos and William Osula, though have so far been frustrated in their attempts to sign England international Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, while they reportedly remain in the market for a winger.
“It’s been the most difficult window I’ve experienced,” said Howe ahead of Sunday’s match against his former club Bournemouth.
“The June part of the window was incredibly difficult and now this part hasn’t been exactly easy either. It’s always going to be difficult because you’re competing for a very small pool of players and the competition is high from other clubs.”
When asked directly about the chances of signing Guehi, Howe replied: “There’s no news. I’m a step removed, but I’m aware there’s still work going on behind the scenes.”
Kieran Trippier, meanwhile, has been linked with a move away from St James’ Park and, while Howe would like to keep the right-back, he conceded there are no guarantees.
“My wish is Kieran stays here and continues to play for us,” he added. “But I can never answer with absolute certainty because it’s football and the window is always unpredictable. We take every case individually and try to make the right decision for the player and the club.
“Tripps is a really valuable member of the squad. His professionalism has been first class. Since coming here, he’s played a huge role in changing the narrative around the team. He galvanised the squad from the first day.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo
Semenyo has scored six goals in his last 13 Premier League starts for Bournemouth. His goal against Nottingham Forest last week was his 10th in the competition overall and he is the seventh Ghanaian to score 10+ goals. The only African countries with more players on 10 goals are Nigeria (17), Senegal (14) and Ivory Coast (10).
Newcastle United – Alexander Isak
Newcastle were starved of possession after going down to 10 men against Southampton last week and, even though they won, chances were at a premium for star striker Isak.
However, against a Bournemouth team that like to get on the front foot, the Sweden forward will be hoping for more of a look in.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Howe has never beaten former club Bournemouth in the Premier League in four attempts (D3 L1). The Cherries are one of only three sides Howe has faced but failed to defeat, along with Luton (D1 L1) and Man City (D1 L15).
Bournemouth, however, have won none of their last eight Premier League games in August (D3 L5) since a 2-0 win over Aston Villa in 2022. In those eight winless games, the Cherries have scored three times while shipping 23.
Newcastle’s away Premier League matches last season saw 76 goals scored (36 for, 40 against), the most by a team in a season since Chelsea in 2019-20 (77 – 39 for, 38 against). Eight of their 10 away games in 2024 have seen at least four goals scored with an overall average of 4.4 goals per game.
The visitors are looking to win their opening two Premier League matches in a season for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign under Kenny Dalglish.
Having kept a clean sheet in their first Premier League meeting with Bournemouth (1-0 in November 2015), Newcastle have conceded at least once in each of their last 11 against the Cherries, who have won just one of their last nine Premier League games against the Magpies.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Bournemouth – 32.6%
Newcastle – 42.6%
Draw – 24.8%
Injuries deprived Neto of bigger move, claims Wolves boss O’Neil
Gary O’Neil has said Pedro Neto could have sealed an even bigger move away from Wolves, if not for his injury record.
Neto left Wolves for Chelsea earlier in August, signing for the Blues in a £45million move.
The Portugal international is set for a swift reunion with his former club, though, with Wolves welcoming Chelsea to Molineux on Sunday.
Ahead of that contest, Wolves boss O’Neil believes Neto could have moved on for an even larger fee – and to an even bigger side – had he stayed fit over the course of recent seasons, with the winger having missed close to four months due to injuries last term.
"The important thing for him now is being able to play week in, week out," O’Neil said of Neto.
"I always felt he was unfortunate with injuries, he never struck me as injury prone. That will be a question mark around him at the moment.
"It's not one I'd be concerned about, which is why I was desperate to keep him and play him every week, but you can understand that may have had an impact in the summer.
"But he can definitely play at any club in world football. His talent, work ethic and physical attributes allow him to play at whatever level he wants."
O’Neil also stressed Chelsea have signed, in his view, an outstanding talent.
"He is one of the best out-and-out wide players in world football. What he can do one-v-one, his explosive pace, what he can do when he arrives there, it allows him to do things not many players can do," he added.
"It was an emotional goodbye He loved it here, his time before I was here and how well it went for him last season on the pitch."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolves – Hwang Hee-chan
With Neto gone, there is even more onus on Hwang Hee-chan, who was one of Wolves’ most impressive players last season. He created one chance in the defeat at Arsenal last week, though failed to get a shot off, so O’Neil will want to see a greater attacking impact this time out.
Chelsea – Pedro Neto
Going up against his old team means Neto will be eager to impress in what could be his full debut, having come on from the bench against Manchester City last time out. The 24-year-old has been in the headlines this week too, after he took the number seven shirt previously occupied by Raheem Sterling, who is now out in the cold at Chelsea.
MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN
Despite losing to Man City in their opener, Enzo Maresca’s team are predicted to get the job done at Molineux by Opta’s supercomputer.
The Blues have not lost their opening two league games in a season since 1973-74, while the last Chelsea manager to lose his first two matches in charge was Gianluca Vialli in February 1998.
Wolves have lost their last four Premier League matches. They have not lost more consecutively since a six-game run between May and August 2021 (three games under Nuno Espirito Santo, three under Bruno Lage), while the last Wolves manager to lose five in a row was Terry Connor between March and April 2012 (seven).
They have lost six of their nine Premier League home games so far in 2024 (W3), with no side losing more. They had only lost four of their 20 league games at Molineux in the whole of 2023.
That being said, Chelsea are winless in four away league games against Wolves (D1 L3), since a 5-2 victory in September 2019 under Frank Lampard.
Chelsea have also conceded at least once in each of their last 16 Premier League away games, their longest run without a clean sheet on the road since a run of 24 between January 1993 and February 1994.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Wolves – 24.1%
Chelsea – 51.4%
Draw – 24.5%
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