Liverpool vs Brighton preview: Fifth host third at Anfield

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Liverpool host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday 25 October, with kick-off at 2pm. Samuel Barrott is the referee for the Matchweek 8 fixture.

Liverpool are fifth with 12 points from seven games (won three, drawn three, lost one), with nine goals scored and eight conceded. Brighton are third with 16 points from seven (won five, drawn one, lost one), with 23 scored and five conceded. Four points separate the sides.

Recent form

Liverpool have won five and lost one of their last six matches, scoring 16 goals and conceding 11. The defeat was 0-3 at home to Man City on 11 October. Since then they have beaten LASK 6-3, Brentford 2-1 and Villarreal 4-3. In the league, they have won three, drawn one and lost one of their last five.

Brighton have won five and drawn one of their last six, scoring 17 and conceding two. Their wins include 3-0 against Arsenal, 4-0 against Kauno Žalgiris and 5-0 against Crystal Palace. Their most recent match was a 0-0 draw away to Jablonec on 22 October. In the league, they have won four and drawn one of their last five.

Team	Last six (oldest first)
Liverpool	WWLWWW WWLWWW
Brighton	WWWWWD WWWWWD

Liverpool: last six results

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
Tue 20 Oct	Home	Villarreal	4-3	W
Sat 17 Oct	Away	Brentford	2-1	W
Wed 14 Oct	Away	LASK	6-3	W
Sun 11 Oct	Home	Man City	0-3	L
Sun 20 Sep	Away	Bournemouth	1-0	W
Tue 15 Sep	Home	Tottenham	3-1	W

Brighton: last six results

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
Thu 22 Oct	Away	Jablonec	0-0	D
Sun 18 Oct	Home	Crystal Palace	5-0	W
Thu 15 Oct	Home	Kauno Žalgiris	4-0	W
Sat 10 Oct	Away	Sunderland	2-0	W
Sat 19 Sep	Home	Arsenal	3-0	W
Wed 16 Sep	Away	Man Utd	3-2	W

What the managers said

Andoni Iraola

The Liverpool manager spoke about Brighton’s start to the season and about his own side.

“I think they are doing incredibly well. They deserved all the praise they are getting and I think there is little doubt there.”

“I think it’s a team that is very well coached, already I think it’s the third season of Fabian [Hurzeler]. They are very good in every phase of the game.”

“we have to be at our very best to beat Brighton because now they are with confidence. But I also see my team in a good place.”

“But I think both teams will try to control the game, will try to press, will try to win our duels and it’s going to be a big challenge, yes.”

“I want to win games. At home, away, we need points, wherever we can get them.”

“We need to play full gas.”

Fabian Hürzeler

The Brighton head coach gave an update on Yankuba Minteh and on the club’s approach to fitness, and referred to their Manchester City games next week.

“There is an option. Especially with Minteh, there might be an option. But definitely next week”

“They will train tomorrow with the team and then we will see if they are available or not.”

“If they are not available for his game then I am quite convinced we will see them back in the squad next week for the [Manchester] City games.”

“We have so many games and we have to take care of the health of the players. We have to make wise decisions.”

Alexander Isak

The Liverpool forward looked ahead to the game at Anfield.

“It’s definitely one of the tougher opponents that you have in the league but I think in the Premier League in today’s football, there are no easy games.”

“We know it’s going to be tough, but we play at home and we have to go to win.”

Team news

Liverpool are without Giovanni Leoni (cruciate ligament tear), Conor Bradley (knee surgery), Vitezslav Jaros (knee surgery), Hugo Ekitiké (Achilles tendon rupture) and Jeremie Frimpong (muscle injury). Dominik Szoboszlai is also out this weekend; he is training alone and is not far from a return to group training. Bradley Barcola trained normally on Friday and is fit. Victor Munoz is still in some pain from a knock against Brentford, and Iraola said it will be difficult for him to be ready but he does not know. Brighton are without Stefanos Tzimas (cruciate ligament tear), E. Ferguson (ankle), Kaoru Mitoma (hamstring), Femi Azeez and Zadok Yohanna (both fitness). Yankuba Minteh might be an option, but Hürzeler said a return is more likely next week, and Mats Wieffer is also close to returning. Both train on Saturday before a decision is made. Pascal Struijk has missed the last two matches, and Hürzeler called it “not a big issue”. The club will keep monitoring him. The line-ups in this preview are predicted.

Where Liverpool can hurt Brighton

Liverpool have scored in five of their last six matches, the exception being the 0-3 home defeat by Man City. They scored 16 goals in those six, including 6-3 at LASK and 4-3 against Villarreal. The predicted XI has Isak, Wirtz and Gakpo in the front line, with Barcola fit after training normally on Friday.

Brighton have conceded two goals in their last six matches, both in a 3-2 win at Man Utd on 16 September. Liverpool have won more corners than they have conceded in their last three matches: 10-3 at Brentford and 7-2 against Villarreal. Brighton, by contrast, did not concede a goal in the other five of their last six games, so Liverpool’s route to goal will need to come from those attacking numbers.

Where Brighton can hurt Liverpool

Brighton have scored 17 goals in their last six matches and 23 in seven league games. They scored three or more in four of the last six, including 5-0 against Crystal Palace on 18 October. The only match in that run in which they failed to score was the 0-0 draw at Jablonec.

Liverpool have conceded in five of their last six matches and have let in 11 goals in that spell. At Anfield in that run they conceded once against Tottenham, three against Man City and three against Villarreal, seven in three home games. They are also missing Leoni, Bradley, Jaros, Ekitiké, Szoboszlai and Frimpong. Brighton also won 13 corners against Kauno Žalgiris and 13 against Palace in their last two home games, and Liverpool conceded nine against Tottenham in September.

How to watch

Liverpool vs Brighton kicks off at 2pm UK time on Sunday 25 October, live on Sky Sports Premier League, NOW. Subscribers can stream it on Sky Go, NOW.

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