At a Glance
- Liverpool face Brighton at the Amex
- Arne Slot’s men confident after Galatasaray win
- Salah injury concern
Liverpool travel to Brighton & Hove Albion with a renewed sense of vigour in their step, after emphatically getting the better of Galatasaray over two legs in the Champions League.
In a very different match preview article, we might’ve been talking about Liverpool limply crashing out of Europe’s blockbuster competition.
Instead, Arne Slot’s Reds are deservedly through to the quarter-final stages. They will face the might of Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain, after overcoming Oran Buruk’s visitors 4-1 on aggregate.
The fixtures just keep coming the Reds’ way, though, as we head into the latter months of the gruelling Premier League campaign. A tricky trip to Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls is next on the agenda.
Liverpool’s upcoming fixture schedule
| Date: | Opponent: | Venue: | Competition: |
| Sat 21 March | Brighton | Away | Premier League |
| Sat 4 April | Man City | Away | FA Cup |
| Wed 8 April | PSG | Away | Champions League |
| Sat 11 April | Fulham | Home | Premier League |
| Tue 14 April | PSG | Away | Champions League |
Here is everything you need to know, ahead of Liverpool’s long away trip to the South Coast on Saturday lunchtime.
How to watch
The showdown between Brighton and Liverpool in the Premier League will kick off at 12:30 pm GMT, with the match being broadcast live on TNT Sports 1.
The pre-match coverage will start at 11 am GMT on the same channel.
Recent form
Brighton
Brighton head into this clash against Slot’s men on their own turf in some positive form in the Premier League.
Indeed, the Seagulls have picked up three victories across their last four outings in the tough division, including a hard-fought 1-0 win at Sunderland last time out.
They have been stung by the Reds recently, however, with a 3-0 loss in the FA Cup at Anfield back in February, no doubt still hurting.
Thankfully, Brighton will feel more confident about pulling off an upset, this time around, knowing they’re in front of their own die-hard masses.
Liverpool
Liverpool will feel equally confident about securing three points when making the mammoth away trip to Brighton, having just thrashed Galatasaray 4-0 on another famous night at Anfield.
Yet, the recent form guide doesn’t look entirely rosy for Slot’s men, at a quick glance.
Liverpool’s Last 5 Away Results:
| Date: | Opponent: | Competition: | Result: |
| March 10 | Galatasaray | Champions League | Loss |
| March 6 | Wolves | FA Cup | Win |
| March 3 | Wolves | Premier League | Loss |
| February 22 | Nottingham Forest | Premier League | Win |
| February 11 | Sunderland | Premier League | Win |
Indeed, that convincing win over the Istanbul giants is only their second win in their last five games. Away trips to Galatasaray and Wolverhampton Wanderers in recent weeks have seen them come unstuck.
The hosts will hope this version of Liverpool travels down to Brighton tomorrow lunchtime, rather than the fearless outfit that thumped four past Buruk’s side.
Team news
Brighton: Stefanos Tzimas (out), Adam Webster (out), Kaoura Mitoma (doubt) and Carlos Baleba (doubt)
Liverpool: Alexander Isak (out), Conor Bradley (out), Giovanni Leoni (out), Joe Gomex (out), Mohamed Salah (out) and Wataru Endo (out)
Predicted lineups
Brighton (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Wieffer, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Ayari, Milner; Gomez, Gross, Minteh; Welbeck
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Nguhoma, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Ekitike
What has been said
Fabian Hurzeler (Brighton)
Heading into Saturday’s showdown with Slot’s inconsistent Reds, Hurzeler was very complimentary about Liverpool when they’re at full flow, as was evidenced by their swashbuckling performance on Tuesday evening.
He said in his pre-match thoughts: “I think we all know Liverpool still one of the best teams with an incredible individual quality. They always can have these special nights… and I think they came into a flow.
When Liverpool comes into a flow then it gets dangerous for every team. So that’s our responsibility to not let them get into the flow.
Therefore we need to be prepared. We need to be intense. We play at home, we play in front of our fans and therefore we’re looking forward to it.”
Hurzeler also went out of his way to defend his managerial counterpart, who has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism this season.
He further stated: “Regarding Arne Slot… I think football sometimes is not fair. He won the Premier League. He is doing [an] incredible job. He’s having a really good style of football.
I went through a tough period so I can imagine how tough it is for him but I’m 100% sure that he will find a way out of it.”
Arne Slot (Liverpool)
Slot, away from revealing Salah’s disappointing injury knock, spoke of the tight turnaround for his side, as they re-enter the bread and butter of Premier League action, just days on from a tiring Champions League tie.
He said: “Can the PL make it easier on the schedule? It is so difficult, so many things they have to be aware of.
Television, we are a popular team, TV want to broadcast us, they told us what they need to do and every season gets complicated every season with more teams in Europe. A 12.30KO after a Weds game and playing on Sunday, it is already difficult.
When we come back PSG, Fulham, PSG again, that is far from ideal. But we also have to accept this because we want this programme, it is what we want but if you want the best outcome, players in the best form, best shape then 1230KO is not ideal, Sunday would be better. TV have chosen…”
Not one to get too bogged down by the schedule, though, Slot appeared to be confident about his team’s chances at the Amex, even when admitting it will be a tight contest.
He further stated: “They didn’t score v us which is a big exception when it comes to us, 0.4xG against and we sometimes still concede, so the Brighton was the exception, they want to play.
Both our games with them have been equal, we haven’t had a lot of luck but our games with them were equal and we won both. In the league game [in December] we were in a difficult time but we won it.
Everywhere they go they generate a lot of xG, they have been unlucky at times. Let’s hope that unlucky run continues.”
