Arne Slot's first Anfield game is against 'crazy' Liverpool rival Jurgen Klopp hated playing

New Liverpool boss Arne Slot will take charge of his first game at Anfield on August 24 against Brentford, who Jurgen Klopp always felt was a tricky team to face. The German had previously claimed 'nobody wants to play' a side like the Bees following a 3-0 win in the 2023/24 season and he has had plenty of other good things to say about manager Thomas Frank too.

Slot, 45, will kickstart his reign at the Reds with a tough test against newly promoted side Ipswich Town. The Tractor Boys achieved back-to-back promotions from League One across the last two seasons and will now aim to spoil Slot's first Premier League game in charge of the club on August 17.

But the Dutch head coach will have to wait another week before he gets his first taste of Anfield on a Premier League matchday. Frank's side will come to Merseyside for a fixture currently penciled in for August 24.

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Liverpool played against Brentford six times under Klopp, winning four of those matches, drawing one and losing one. At home, the Reds have a 100 per cent record against the Bees since they were promoted to the top flight.

But Klopp has always been clear about the challenge that facing Frank's side presents. Brentford is known for a physical style, is excellent with set-pieces, and has dangerous attackers in Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbuemo.

"More than 20 years ago when I started my career, I wanted to create a team that nobody wants to play against and we faced that team today," Klopp said after beating Brentford 3-0 at Anfield last November. "It's crazy! This spell where they had six corners in a row I thought 'oh god.' But we defended with so much passion in the moment. The goals we scored were fantastic."

Liverpool.com says: While Brentford will not be an easy game for the Reds to start the Slot era at Anfield against, it could have been a much harder match. At home at least, Liverpool has tended to do pretty well against the West London club in recent times.