Brighton gear up at the Amex Stadium
Liverpool are taking on Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium today as both sides look to bounce back from chastening defeats in the Premier League last weekend.
Liverpool were on the receiving end of that disastrous VAR call which saw Luis Diaz have a goal incorrectly ruled out despite checks confirming he was onside. They enjoyed a Europa League win over Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday but Jurgen Klopp has warned his side they are facing a dangerous opponent in Brighton. “We expect a really tough game against one of the best sides in the league, the best-coached team in the league, I would say.”
Brighton, however, were thrashed 6-1 by Aston Villa last weekend with manager Roberto De Zerbi concerned that his squad are not equipped to play European football alongside domestic duties. They come into this one with several injury concerns, after salvaging a late draw at Marseille in the Europa League in midweek.
Follow all the latest score and updates from Brighton vs Liverpool below and get all the latest Premier League betting sites offers here.
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Brighton vs Liverpool
Brighton have won the past two meetings in all competitions, with both victories coming at the Amex Stadium in January.
Liverpool have registered just one win from their previous six Premier League clashes with Brighton, drawing three and losing two.
Who will come out on top today?
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Alexis Mac Allister faces his former club Brighton for the first time since a summer switch to Liverpool.
Mac Allister has slowly settled down in the base of Liverpool’s midfield and Klopp said he was not looking at finding the best position for the Argentine World Cup winner just yet.
“We just use him. He’s a fantastic player. I love everything about him – super-smart, tactically and off the pitch as well. So that’s really, really nice to work with him,” Klopp said.
“We defend more compact and better than we did in our bad phases last year. We have small spaces and it’s really, really good because he sees the situations really well.
“And from there we have an extra footballer on the pitch and it’s really cool.”
Alexis Mac Allister has had to fill an unfamiliar role in Liverpool’s midfield (Mike Egerton/PA)
Brighton the best coached team in Premier League, says Jurgen Klopp
Brighton & Hove Albion are the best-coached club in the Premier League and play “incredible football” despite losing their best players, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said ahead of Sunday’s clash.
Brighton finished sixth last season to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club’s history, but they lost two key midfielders in the close season with Alexis Mac Allister moving to Liverpool while Moises Caicedo made the switch to Chelsea.
The south-coast club are sixth in the league this season but are bottom of their Europa League group without a win while their last league match was a 6-1 humbling by Aston Villa. Liverpool are fourth, one point above Brighton.
“Brighton had a few results which didn’t go exactly in their way, but that’s a completely normal situation in a development. They had a lot of changes, lost top players – one of them we got – and still play incredible football,” Klopp told reporters.
“We expect a really tough game against one of the best sides in the league, best-coached team in the league, I would say,” Klopp said, adding that they made a “smart move” in hiring Roberto De Zerbi to replace Graham Potter.
“They made really big steps and are super-consistent – different formations, different players, lineups – wow! In the end you always see Brighton football and I couldn’t respect that more.”
Jurgen Klopp has hailed his counterpart
Brighton vs Liverpool team changes
Roberto de Zerbi making six changes from the team that were hammered by Aston Villa last time out. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen is in for Jason Steele with Igor Julio, Joao Pedro, Pascal Gross, Carlos Baleba and Simon Adingra also included. Danny Welbeck and Billy Gilmour are among those dropping to the bench.
Jurgen Klopp makes three changes to the Liverpool side that last started the controversial 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.
Harvey Elliott, Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold are included replacing Curtis Jones (suspended), Cody Gakpo (knee injury) and Joe Gomez (bench).
Brighton vs Liverpool line-ups
Brighton XI:
Liverpool XI:
Brighton vs Liverpool prediction
Roberto de Zerbi’s men will make things difficult for Jurgen Klopp’s men but there should be enough quality within Liverpool’s team to ensure they ease past a Brighton side struggling for form.
Brighton 1-2 Liverpool.
Brighton vs Liverpool team news
Brighton lost Pervis Estupinan to injury last Saturday and the defender is expected to be absent for a while according to boss Roberto De Zerbi. Pascal Gross is fit to feature after starting against Marseille but James Milner and Adam Lallana are doubts.
Following their red cards against Tottenham, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota are suspended for this match. Cody Gakpo came off at half time against Tottenham with what appeared to be a leg injury it is doubtful that he will feature with Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara remain absent. Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit again and should start after being named in Gareth Southgate’s upcoming England squad.
How to watch Brighton vs Liverpool
Brighton vs Liverpool kicks off at 2pm BST on Sunday 8 October at the Amex Stadium.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on the channel from 1pm BST. Subscribers can also stream the action via SkyGo.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get great deals on the best VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider.
Roberto De Zerbi concerned by injury situation
Roberto De Zerbi said Brighton must work to change their habits as he was again left sweating on the availability of players after watching his side draw 2-2 with Marseille in the Europa League.
The Italian was already without injured defender Pervis Estupinan for the meeting at the Stade Velodrome, which saw the visitors recover from 2-0 down at half-time to claim a draw that kept alive their hopes of progression from Group B.
Tariq Lamptey stepped in to deputise and performed well, winning the penalty from which Joao Pedro equalised two minutes from the end, but De Zerbi said he might be reluctant to risk the 23-year-old – who has also spent time out with injury – for the second time in three days today against Liverpool.
Pascal Gross was making his first appearance since a muscle injury sustained in the 3-2 loss to AEK Athens in September, and is another player the manager said will need to be assessed ahead of Sunday’s game.
“(Lamptey) was one of the best of us on the pitch,” said De Zerbi. “Now the problem is for Sunday, because I don’t want to take risks with him, because he was injured in the last part of last season and the first part of this season.
“But at the moment it’s very tough because we lost Pervis, I don’t know if we will have James Milner. We have to analyse Pascal Gross’ situation, for him it was the first game after injury. It’s a tough moment, but I think we can play well anyway.
“The most important thing is not physical. For Lamptey yes, for Pascal in this moment it can be a physical problem. Lewis Dunk lost the pre-season, Solly March as well lost pre-season. But for the others, the problem is not physical.
“It’s about habits. We have to change our habits, but we will reach that point. It’s a target for us, to reach the level which we have to play every game, every week, three games (a week). I don’t know how much time we need, but that’s the target.”
Roberto De Zerbi, the Brighton manager (Daniel Cole/AP)
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