Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool: Match preview, team news, probable lineups, and prediction
On Saturday, Liverpool travels to the south coast of England to face Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex stadium. A win for Liverpool will put them 7 points clear until Manchester city plays Wolves on Monday night.
When the two sides met earlier in the season, Liverpool ran out 1-0 winners at Anfield, courtesy of a goal from Mo Salah.
Brighton have played the Reds three times so far in the Premier League, since their promotion from the Championship. The Seagulls, however, are yet to win a game against Liverpool and lost 1-0, 4-0 and 5-1.
Current form
Brighton and Hove Albion
Chris Houghton's men have been on good form since the turn of Christmas and are unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions. They currently sit 13th in the Premier League standings.
The most notable results amongst this run in a 1-1 draw against Arsenal and a 1-0 win over Everton. This run also witnessed a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth in the FA Cup third round fixture.
Glenn Murray is in good form this season for Brighton having scored eight goals in 21 Premier League outings so far this season.
Liverpool
Liverpool are out of sorts recently and suffered two defeats on the spin at the hands of Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Whilst Klopp's men have suffered defeat in their last two games, it is hard to forget their impressive performances in the league which has seen them rise to the top of the table.
Also, their attack is immense and their defense has also been solid despite some injury problems. They are more than capable of extending the gap between themselves and Manchester City to seven points.
Team News
Liverpool have serious injury problems at centre-back with Virgil Van Dijk being their only fit first-team centre-half, after Lovren picked up a hamstring injury against Wolves. Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are both also still out with injuries.
Klopp has few options on who to partner the Dutchman, with Fabinho and Ki-Jana Hoever being the only real candidates.
On the other hand, Brighton are without the Colombian winger, Jose Izquierdo, for the match due to a knee injury and Bernardo is also a major doubt due to a hamstring injury. Matthew Ryan is also unavailable.
Probable lineups:
Brighton XI: David Button, Gaetan Bong, Shane Duffy, Lewis Dunk, Martin Montoya, Dale Stephens, Davy Propper, Pascal Groß, Anthony Knockheart, Solly March and Glenn Murray
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil Van Dijk, Fabinho, Andy Robertson, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, Xherdan Shaqiri, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
Prediction
Liverpool have injury problems at the back and aren't on the best of form whilst Brighton are currently on a good run. However, Liverpool's attacking qualities and makeshift defense should still be enough to see off Brighton.
Brighton 1-3 Liverpool