Jurgen Klopp’s side have suffered successive losses but will be confident of bouncing back at the Amex
Liverpool have suffered successive defeats against Manchester City and Wolves, and on Saturday are out to ensure they do not suffer an unwanted hat-trick when they tackle Brighton.
The 2-1 reverse away to Manchester City on January 3 was the first they had suffered in the league all season, and in spite of that result they still command a healthy four-point advantage at the summit.
Brighton’s quest to avoid relegation, meanwhile, is going well thus far. The Amex club are 10 points clear of the bottom three and are undefeated in their last four in all competitions.
| Game | Brighton vs Liverpool |
| Date | Saturday, January 12 |
| Time | 3pm GMT / 10am ET |
| Stream (US only) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
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| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| NBCSN | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be played during the blackout period and will not be broadcast or streamed.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | N/A |
| Position | Brighton players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Steele, Button |
| Defenders | Bruno, Bong, Duffy, Dunk, Balogun, Schelotto, Montoya, Suttner |
| Midfielders | Stephens, Kayal, Bissouma, Knockaert, Gross, March, Propper |
| Forwards | Locadia, Andone, Murray, Izquierdo |
Brighton made eight changes for their FA Cup win over Bournemouth last weekend but are set to return to Premier League mode in this encounter.
Bernardo is out so Gaetan Bong starts at left-back in the only change from their 2-2 draw with West Ham.
Goalkeeper Maty and Alireza Jahanbakhsh are away on Asian Cup duty with Australia and Iran respectively, while Jose Izquierdo is absent.
Confirmed Brighton starting XI: Button; Montoya, Dunk, Duffy, Bong; Propper, Stephens, Gross, March; Murray, Locadia.
Bench: Steele, Balogun, Bruno, Kayal, Sanders, Knockaert, Andone.
| Position | Liverpool players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Alisson, Mignolet, Grabara |
| Defenders | Clyne, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Robertson, Moreno |
| Midfielders | Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Keita, Henderson, Lallana, Camacho, Jones |
| Forwards | Mane, Salah, Firmino, Sturridge, Shaqiri, Origi |
Rhian Brewster and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are still on the injury list long term. Liverpool remain without Joe Gomes and Joel Matip due to a fractured leg and a broken collarbone respectively, although the latter could play against Crystal Palace next week.
Dejan Lovren is out with a hamstring problem amid the Reds’ injury crisis at centre-back, meaning Fabinho lines up alongside Virgil van Dijk.
Jordan Henderson is fit after he missed Monday’s game with Wolves due to a minor complaint, while Xherdan Shaqiri has been given a start, too.
Confirmed Liverpool starting XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Van Djik, Robertson; Henderson, Shaqiri, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Bench: Mignolet, Milner, Keita, Moreno, Origi, Matip, Camacho.
Liverpool are hot 3/10 favourites to come away with the win, according to bet365. Brighton are priced at 10/1 and a draw is 5/1.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Liverpool’s unbeaten record may be gone, but there are few signs of their title challenge fading as Jurgen Klopp’s outfit aim to break a duck that has stretched back to 1990.
Defeat to Manchester City is nothing to be ashamed of, while Monday’s FA Cup match against Wolves was certainly not to the top of their priority list. Indeed, the defeat may prove a blessing as it leaves their schedule relatively clear before the pace picks up in February, when the Champions League restarts.
Until then, Liverpool can focus on the league and will be expected to maximise the number of points they take, with a relatively straightforward run against Brighton, Crystal Palace, Leicester, West Ham and Bournemouth.
Roberto Firmino, though, knows that the Reds cannot afford to take any of these fixtures lightly.
“It’ll be a difficult game,” he told the club’s website.
“Losing is obviously always bad; nobody likes to lose, and certainly not me. But now we’ve got to bounce back. We’ve worked hard every day so we’re prepared for the weekend. It’ll be a big game, a difficult game and we’ll do our best to get the three points.
“That’s what the Premier League is all about – it’s intensely competitive. If the team at the top stutters, the second place will overtake them.
“We know we can’t go to sleep and lose silly points. We must maintain our focus until the end of the season.”
On the other side of the fence, Brighton go into the game with the pressure off them. Ten points clear of the relegation zone, they are surprising this season and manager Chris Hughton has played down their expectations for the encounter.
“Can we go into the game with some comfort? We can until kick-off time and then it’s about how you perform on the day,” he said.
“They will be big favourites, as everybody would imagine, and it will be us doing as well as we can on the day.”
Unbeaten in four, including a 1-1 home draw with Arsenal, Brighton have proven themselves to be no pushovers, but they have lost all of their last six against Liverpool – a run they desperately want to arrest.