After a chastening pair of defeats to end a long unbeaten run, Liverpool are back to reality with a bump. Now, they head to the home of the team with the best home record outside of the top six in the league: Brighton and Hove Albion. The Seagulls are doing quite well for themselves, and should pose a much bigger challenge than they did in the 5-0 battering they received at the Amex last year.
Brighton and Hove Albion News
The loss of Mat Ryan and Alireza Jahanbaksh to the Asian Cup is a big loss for Brighton, while the loss of the impressive Bernardo will likely be felt here, too. Jose Izquierdo is likely to miss out, too, having failed to live up to his second season so far in England.
Outside of that, though, we do not expect Brighton to be missing too many other players. They look to be in fine condition following a hectic festive period.
Liverpool News
Last year, Liverpool won at Brighton with ease despite the appearance of Giorginio Wijnadlum at centre-back. This year, something similar will be needed: Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren are all injured.
While young FA Cup debutant Ki-Jana Hoever is unlikely to play, we could see someone like Fabinho slot into the central slot again. He done well there in the loss to Wolves, but this will be another huge challenge – albeit added by the likely return of Virgil van Dijk.
Verdict
This should be a great game to watch: a home side flying and a would-be set of champions being very closely examined. The pressure is on for the Reds, and we can see them passing this test. Don’t expect it to be easy, though: Brighton are fearsome at home, and will definitely pose as stern a test as the Reds have faced so far away from home outside the traditional giants.