Games at the Gtech Community Stadium this season have almost invariably been thrillers, and Thomas Frank’s attacking style with Brentford should ensure that their clash against Liverpool on Saturday is no different.

That was certainly the case when Man City visited on Tuesday. The Bees fought back from 2-0 down to secure a 2-2 draw, actually creating a greater xG than Pep Guardiola’s side.

In the 11 Premier League matches they have hosted this season, an amazing 8 have produced at least 4 goals. What was previous a superb home record, though, has been blemished by a loss to Arsenal and that draw with City, and Liverpool are likely to prove too strong for the Londoners.

Arne Slot’s side may be coming into this game off the back of a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest, but they generated 2.0xG in that game to their opponents’ 0.3. They were similarly dominant against Manchester United little over a week previous, so the fact that they have won only 1 of their last 4 should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Look for Liverpool to get back on track, but they will need to win a high-scoring game in order to do so.

Birmingham can really underscore their dominance in League One this weekend by overcoming an Exeter side that is prone to conceding big numbers of goals.

The Blues have the second-best offence in the third tier, having netted 41 goals in 23 matches – a rate of 1.78 per game. Exeter, on the face of it, aren’t too bad defensively, having conceded 31 times, yet in recent weeks they have been shipping goals all over the place.

The Grecians have kept only 1 clean sheet in their last 11 games – an FA Cup tie against Chesterfield on the last day of November. During this time, they have conceded 2 goals or more on an enormous 8 occasions.

While the home side have been typically going along steadily rather than spectacularly this term, they have found their shooting boots in recent matches, notably bagging 3 in their last League One game against Wigan – a team that has only conceded 23 times all season.

If they remain as efficient against an Exeter side prone to giving up chances and goals, look for them to break their shackles and enjoy a comfortable win.

Hibs have been one of the form teams in Scotland in recent weeks, so David Gray’s side should have little difficulty in brushing aside the challenge of a Clydebank outfit that plays its football in the sixth tier of the Scottish game.

Playing at home on a fine surface, with no particularly inclement weather forecast, there should be nothing stopping Hibs racking up the goals in this encounter.

Certainly, that’s what they’ve been doing in recent league matches. The Hibees have hit 3 in 5 of their last 9 league matches, including successive outings at Easter Road against Rangers and Motherwell – both far better opponents than the one they will face on Saturday.

Clydebank do have a decent defensive record in the West of Scotland league but have still leaked 12 goals in 10 matches – 1.2 per game. If opponents of that standard can pick them off, then an in-form Premiership club should be able to do likewise.

There will be nearly 2,500 travelling through to the capital to watch this game, but it’s likely to be a festival of goals against their team.

Saturday’s highlight match in the Premier League is arguably Arsenal’s home encounter against Aston Villa, and though Mikel Arteta’s men are depleted offensively, after winning through against Tottenham in midweek, look for them to continue the positive momentum against an opponent that does not travel particularly well.

Arsenal post the best home record in the league, with 7 wins from 10 games and not a single defeat to their name. Even without Bukayo Saka in midweek, they found the resources to overcome Spurs, yet they conceded for a fifth straight match, showing that their defence is permeable.

Villa will certainly fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet. They have scored in 9 of their last 10 matches overall, with the only failure coming in Newcastle over the busy Christmas period. Since then, they have scored 7 times in 4 games.

Unai Emery’s side, though, have lost all of their previous away 4 trips to top 6 sides, going down against Liverpool, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle. The last 3 of these losses have come since December, raising major question as to whether they can live with the best teams on the road.

The answer has been a resounding ‘no’ so far, and that is likely to continue – even if they are good enough to score.

Patrick Schick is quietly one of the form players in Europe at present so look for him to cause major problems for a Borussia Monchengladbach side that comes into this match fresh from conceding 5 against Wolfsburg in midweek.

Indeed, Gladbach’s recent defensive record will have Schick licking his lips. On the face of it, they’ve not done too dreadfully, with 7 goals conceded in 3 games, yet their xGA in these encounters is an enormous 11.7 – an average of 3.9xGA per game. Chances will surely come for the Czech forward.

Schick, meanwhile, leads the Bundesliga with 0.99xG per 90 – a greater figure even than Harry Kane. This shows that he is regularly getting into high-quality scoring positions. This is underlined by the fact that he has 2.44 shots on target per 90 – again a tournament-leading figure.

With 12 goals in his last 7 starts, his confidence will be up and he will surely be shooting at every opportunity he gets. With Gladbach’s miserably unable to keep their opponents quiet right now, Schick is surely their nightmare striker to be pitted against.

It’s derby day in Brittany on Saturday, with goals at both ends looking likely as a Rennes side in crisis plays host to a Brest outfit that has fared far better at home than on their travels this term.

Rennes come into this match having lost in the Coupe de France to mid-table Ligue 2 outfit Troyes, with no improvement under the recently appointed Jorge Sampaoli. Indeed, the home side have conceded goals in each of their last 4 matches and have kept only 2 clean sheets in their previous 10.

On the other hand, the home side have only been shut out once at Roazhon Park this season so should have the capacity to score against a Brest team that has conceded 20 in their 8 Ligue 1 away matches this term.

Equally, Brest are rarely kept mute. Eric Roy’s side have scored in 10 of their last 12 matches, with one of those an away trip to Barcelona in the Champions League. Indeed, even though they struggle away from home – they have 7 of 8 on the road in the league – they have netted in 5 of their last 6.

The previous encounter between these sides this term finished 1-1, and this is also likely to see both net.