Contents
Brighton and Hove Albion will be playing hosts to Liverpool as the two sides prepare to collide for the Premier League 2022/23 fixture at the Amex Stadium in Brighton. Only one point separate them on the league table and Brighton will be looking to leapfrog their more prestigious opponents on the table with a victory here. Both sides have won eight of their 17 matches in the top flight so far.
The Seagulls are arriving into this game on the back of a morale-increasing win as they hammered Middlesbrough 5-1 to progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Meanwhile, the Merseyside giants were forced to accept a replay after drawing 2-2 with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Their recent form in the Premier League has been pretty contrasting as well. Goals from Karou Mitoma, Evan Ferguson, Solly March, and Pascal Gross helped Brighton thump fellow Merseyside giants and Liverpool’s arch rivals 4-1 in their last league outing. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp’s side were blown wide open in defence as Brentford cruised to a 3-1 victory on their own turf.
Brighton and Hove Albion have been in imperious form in front of goal lately. They nearly produced an exact repeat of their 4-1 triumph over Everton but added an extra goal as they dispatched Middlesbrough with a 5-1 annihilation at Boro’s Riverside Stadium in the FA Cup last weekend.
The star of the show was the Seagulls’ returning World Cup hero Alexis Mac Allister who added further cause to his celebrations by scoring a brace of goals after coming off the bench. He was assisted in his efforts by former Liverpool player Adam Lallana, Deniz Undav, and Pascal Gross who were also able to find the back of the net for Roberto de Zerbi’s side.
The flurry of goals helped them quickly bounce back after Chuba Akpom had restored parity for the hosts in the opening exchanges of the contest. Thanks to that win, the Seagulls have now marched towards the fourth round of the FA Cup where they will square off against the winners of the tie between Liverpool and Wolves.
Before their successful trip to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, Brighton had travelled to the Goodison Park to take on Everton. By the time the final whistle blew, the stadium was completely silenced as the Toffees had fallen apart in front of the Seagulls’ prolific scoring exploits.
Three points from that win on Tuesday helped them climb to eighth place on the table and they trail their opponents on Saturday by just a single point. Brighton remain firmly involved in the race for the European spots.
Tottenham Hotspur – who have played a game more – still hold an unassailable six-point lead over Brighton in fifth place, but victory for the Seagulls on their own turf would be enough to break into the top seven over Liverpool, as the positives continue to outweigh the negatives in life after the departure of Graham Potter to Chelsea.
While Brighton and Hove Albion have found the back of the net on a consistent basis, they’ve found it more difficult to protect their own goal judging by recent form. They’ve conceded goals in each of their last seven Premier League matches.
Although their only top-flight win at the Amex since October was that 4-1 demolition of Chelsea, but Liverpool are not exactly the force that they once were and De Zerbi’s side remain firm favourites to pick up a positive result here and catch and already stuttering Liverpool off-guard.
It has been a largely underwhelming and forgettable season for Liverpool so far who have looked like a shadow of their best selves. The horrific run of results for the Merseyside giants who went from competing for the title with Manchester City to now struggling to make it to the European spots has left fans wondering where things went wrong for Jurgen Klopp’s side. The departure of Sadio Mane, a misfiring Darwin Nunez, a plethora of injuries, and the refusal to reinforce the squad with depth and quality have all been pointed out as valid causes.
The calls to urgently sign another midfielder to help out their injury crisis grows louder and louder at Anfield and the game against Brighton could help them get another positive look at Brighton’s Moises Caicedo who has been on their radar for a while.
Although things may have gone plenty wrong for them this season, Liverpool will be thanking their stars or at least, the lack of more camera angles, for their FA Cup defence remaining alive.
Prior to the full-time whistle in their four-goal draw with Wolves that ended 2-2, Toti had seemingly scored the winning goal for the visitors before it was ruled out, with Matheus Nunes adjudged to have committed the offside offence when receiving the ball back at his feet from a corner.
VAR adjudged that there was no concrete evidence available to overturn the decision on the pitch which left Julen Lopetegui in the opposite dugout furious as he shook hands with Klopp after the full time whistle. The result couldn’t have meant more to anyone else than goalkeeper Alisson Becker who was at fault for both of Wolves’ goals and failed to cover himself in glory.
Last season’s Premier League runners-up by just a single point will be making their return to the top flight action this weekend. They are currently placed seventh in the table, one point ahead of their rivals Brighton. However, no matter what the Reds do at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, they will not be able to dislodge Tottenham from their Europa League spot. The London-based side have a five-point lead over Klopp’s men who were knocked down a place by Fulham on Thursday night after the Cottagers got the better of Chelsea.
Much like Brighton at home, Liverpool have also scored and conceded in each of their last six games in all tournaments but their form away from home has been deplorable. They have succeeded in winning just two matches on the road so far this season – the 12th best record in the league.
Leandro Trossard made the headlines for the right reasons as his hat-trick allowed Brighton to come away from Anfield with a 3-3 draw earlier this season, but Liverpool have not lost in their 10 previous visits to the South Coast side, including a 2-0 success at the Amex in March.
BHA vs LIV, Premier League 2022/23
Date: 14th January, 2023
Time: 8:30 PM IST
Venue: Amex Stadium, Brighton
FORM GUIDE:
Brighton and Hove Albion Premier League form:
- W-W-L-W-L-W
Brighton and Hove Albion form (all competitions):
- D-L-W-L-W-W
Liverpool Premier League form:
- L-W-W-W-W-L
Liverpool form (all competitions):
- W-L-W-W-L-D
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Brighton and Hove Albion wins: 5
Draws: 11
Liverpool wins: 20
TEAM NEWS:
Brighton and Hove Albion Team News:
Brighton succeeded in dispatching Middlesbrough in the FA Cup recently without suffering any fresh injury concerns. However, Leandro Trossard, who became the hero in the previous match with Liverpool after scoring a hat-trick, will end up missing this fixture after it was reported that the relationship between him and manager de Zerbi has broken beyond repair leading his agent to publish a plea to Brighton in order to sell him during this transfer window.
Jakub Moder is the only injury concern for the hosts as far as this game is concerned, though, as the Poland midfielder targets a return from a knee problem next month, and De Zerbi was able to give Adam Webster some minutes off the bench in the FA Cup, where Lewis Dunk was rested.
An expected return for Mac Allister in the final third means that Lallana may have to accept a spot on the bench against his former club, while emerging star Evan Ferguson should enjoy another start up front.
Liverpool Team News:
The situation in Liverpool is completely different where the treatment room seems to be working at full capacity. Diogo Jota, Arthur, Luis Diaz, and Virgil Van Dijk continue to be long-term absentees and have been ruled out. Forward Roberto Firmino has also suffered a major setback during his recovery from a calf problem while James Milner who was previously dealing with a hamstring issue should be available here.
On a more ominous note, Klopp is unsure whether to start with Darwin Nunez after the Uruguayan picked up an unspecified injury, so new signing Cody Gakpo’s first Premier League start seems to be a guarantee.
The 23-year-old – who admitted to having “good and sloppy” moments in his inaugural appearance – ought to line up at the tip of the attack here, while Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate will pair up in the absence of Van Dijk.
Brighton and Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Lamptey, Dunk, Webster, Estupinan; Caicedo, Gross; March, Mac Allister, Mitoma; Ferguson
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konate, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Gakpo, Oxlade-Chamberlain
Predictions:
Both Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool have displayed a prolific form in front of goal but Brighton have been much more clinical. The Reds, on the other hand, have been frequently wasteful and are struggling to keep up consistency.
The re-formation of the partnership between Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk gives the hosts the edge in this clash as Liverpool are missing a key component in Van Dijk at the back. They’ve also been extremely sloppy and have let in goals by the bulk.
Roberto de Zerbi will be hoping to hurt an already stuttering Liverpool even more in order to leapfrog over them on the table and they are the favourites to register another win here.
BHA vs LIV Fantasy XI No. 1
BHA vs LIV Fantasy XI No. 2
