Football
Liverpool vs Brighton Confirmed Lineups, Team News, Preview and Prediction
Arne Slot’s high-flying Liverpool welcome Brighton to Anfield on Saturday afternoon, and we’ve got the latest team news and confirmed lineups ahead of the action, as well as a prediction alongside our match preview.
Liverpool vs Brighton Preview
Fresh off the back of meeting in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, Liverpool and Brighton face off for the second time in three days as they go head-to-head at Anfield in the English top-flight on Saturday afternoon.
The Reds claimed a narrow 3-2 victory in the midweek cup clash, with all five goals coming in the second period. Cody Gakpo netted a brace for Arne Slot’s side, and Luis Diaz grabbed the other.
Our goalscorers 😁🤳 pic.twitter.com/djvMd4eRsT
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 30, 2024
It followed a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the league last weekend, a result that sees Liverpool head into Gameweek 10 in second place behind Manchester City, and they are now unbeaten in 10 successive matches across all competitions.
Brighton, meanwhile, are sixth in the Premier League table, six points behind this weekend’s opponents, and they recorded a 2-2 draw against Wolves in their last league game.
The Seagulls, who are unbeaten in three in the league, took a 2-0 lead in the 85th minute, but a late surge from the visitors saw Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha score in the 88th and 93rd minutes to snatch a point at the Amex.
Last season’s meeting in Merseyside ended in a narrow 2-1 victory for the hosting Reds, which ended their four-game winless streak against the south coast club, thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Diaz.
Liverpool Team News
Conor Bradley returned to the fold for the Reds on Wednesday, starting and featuring for the entire 90 minutes, however Alisson (hamstring), Harvey Elliott (foot), Diogo Jota (abdominal) and Federico Chiesa (fitness) played no part in the tie.
All four are expected to miss out on Brighton’s visit to Merseyside on Saturday too, with Alisson, Elliott and Jota reportedly ruled out of action until late November at the very earliest.
Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate should all be recalled into Liverpool’s starting lineup after a heavily rotated side was fielded in the cup, and so should Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister.
Brighton Team News
Fabian Hurzeler provided an injury update for several members of his squad following the midweek defeat, confirming that Lewis Dunk (calf), Yankuba Minteh (groin), Matt O’Riley (ankle) and Joao Pedro (ankle) are all doubts.
Ferdi Kadioglu started Wednesday’s game at left-back for the Seagulls, and after being forced off at the break, Hurzeler confirmed that the injury is ‘not that bad’, so the Turk should be involved on Saturday.
Ruled out of the tie however, are Solly March (knee), James Milner (thigh) and Adam Webster (thigh), all through injury.
Liverpool vs Brighton Confirmed Lineups
Liverpool Confirmed Lineup:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Nunez
Brighton Confirmed Lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Igor, Estupinan; Kadioglu, Hinshelwood, Ayari, Mitoma; Rutter, Welbeck
Liverpool vs Brighton Prediction
Brighton proved in the cup that they can cause Liverpool problems, but with the likes of Salah, Van Djik, Gravenberch and Alexander-Arnold returning to the lineup, as well as the added factor of playing at Anfield, this weekend’s clash promises to be a completely different ball game.
With this in mind, we at SportsCasting, like the UK’s best football betting sites, are favouring the Reds to record a comfortable victory at home, extending their unbeaten run to 11 straight matches across all competitions in the process.
Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 Brighton