Brighton v Liverpool – Match Preview

Liverpool head to Brighton on Saturday afternoon on the back of a miserable draw against Wolves in the FA Cup. the Reds are yet to claim a first victory in 2023, they will hope to break the bad patch and get back to winning ways against the in-form Seagulls.

Overview

Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by Wolves in the FA Cup on Saturday. A replay at the Molineux Stadium will be seen as blessing in disguise, given the final outcome of the clash and complaints from Julen Lopetegui about Toti’s disallowed goal.

The Reds must get back on right track. There’s no room for more mistakes as they are already seven points off the top four and have lost half of their Premier League away games this campaign (2W, 2D, 4L).

The departure of Graham Potter was staggering but the anxiety was soon gone courtesy of Roberto De Zerbi. Brighton are confident and play fearless football. The Seagulls come into the encounter in a rich vein of scoring form. They found the back of the net 14 times in the last four games. This is a warning signal for Liverpool, who conceded at least one goal in the previous five away meetings in the Premier League.

Head to Head

The Premier League era has seen 11 clashes between the sides to date. The rivalry struck up in 2017/18 campaign when Brighton were promoted to the Premier League after a 34-year absence from the top flight.

Liverpool registered seven wins, three draws and one defeat against Roberto De Zebri’s side. However, it is fair to say that the Merseyside team was a challenge for most clubs in the previous years as others struggled to keep up with the intensity of their game.

This time, it seems that Pep Lijnders’ philosophy of “our identity is intensity” will be much harder to implement against Brighton.

Team News

Diogo Jota, Arthur, Luis Diaz, Virgil van Dijk and Roberto Firmino will miss the contest.

Jurgen Klopp has provided an update on Darwin Núñez’s fitness that kept him out of traning. The Uruguyan still needs assessing and remains a doubt just like James Milner and Stefan Bajčetić.

Jakub Moder is the only certain absentee for Brighton. The Poland midfielder is still nursing an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which he picked up against Norwich City last season. Moder is likely to be involved in the training sessions next month.

However, the condition of Leandro Trossard will need to be assessed. The 28-year-old was not a part of Brighton’s previous encounter with Middlesbrough due to a calf issue. Remember what happened last time he met Liverpool? Yes, he netted a brilliant hat-trick to secure his side a vital point.

Summary

I am pessimistic about this one. The partnership of the Dunk-Webster will be dangerous for our centre backs and struggling midfield. The pair of Ibrahima Konaté and Joel Matip will likely get the nod at the back. Personally, I cannot see Joe Gomez start ahead of the Frenchman due to his constant mistakes and hesistation.

I feel it will be an open game in which both sides will have their goal-scoring chances. Having said so, the more effective team should end the clash on the winning end. I am not dooming Liverpool to failure, but they will need to step up the game to claim an away victory.

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