Liverpool vs Brighton: Match preview, predicted line-ups, team news, and prediction
Liverpool take on Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday evening.
The Reds thrashed League One side Barnsley 4-1 at home in the third round, while Brighton claimed a 2-1 victory at Manchester United.
Match preview
Liverpool got back to winning ways on Wednesday evening, beating Sunderland 1-0, ending the Black Cats’ unbeaten home record this term.
The Reds were defensively solid and looked dangerous in attack. Manager Arne Slot will look to build on that performance against Brighton.
Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0 in the Premier League in December and will be looking to repeat the same in this fixture.
Slot’s side have been vulnerable at home, losing five times already, but are huge favourites here, given the visitors’ own form.
Brighton have won just twice across all competitions since the start of December, putting pressure on manager Fabian Hurzeler.
Brighton are usually a tough opponent for for Liverpool, but the Reds have often emerged on top. In 42 meetings between them, the visitors have lost 23, drawn 11 and won eight.
Also, Hurzeler has won just one of his previous four matches against Liverpool, losing three.
However, the Seagulls hold the advantage in the competition, winning three, losing two and drawing one of their previous six encounters.
Team news
Slot expects Wataru Endo to ‘be out for a long time‘ after the midfielder sustained an injury against Sunderland.
He joins Alexander Isak, Giovanni Leoni, Jeremie Frimpong, and Conor Bradley on the treatment table. Dominic Szoboszlai is suspended.
Stefanos Tzimas, Adam Webster, Solly March, Mats Wieffer, and Yasin Ayari are fitness concerns for Brighton.
Predicted line-ups
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Giorgi Mamardashvili, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Milos Kerkez, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz, Federico Chiesa, Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike.
Brighton (4-2-3-1): Jason Steele, Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk, Jan-Paul van Hecke, Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood, Pascal Groß, Brajan Gruda, Diego Gomez, Georginio Rutter, Danny Welbeck.
Prediction
We expect Liverpool to win 2-1.
Stats from transfermarkt.com