Facing an uphill battle to end a four-game losing streak in the Premier League, Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Liverpool to the Amex Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.
The Seagulls went down 2-1 to Newcastle United last time out, while Jurgen Klopp's side sealed their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in midweek.
Match preview
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It is certainly ironic to see Brighton and Liverpool locking horns at 12:30pm once again - nearly two years on from Klopp's impassioned rant at the Amex over lunchtime games following his side's European endeavours - but the Seagulls do not enter the contest in the best of form.
Graham Potter's side have lost their grip on a top-half spot after a dismal run of results and could not stop the Newcastle United juggernaut at St James' Park, with Ryan Fraser and Fabian Schar netting before Lewis Dunk's consolation in a 2-1 defeat.
The Seagulls did at least manage to end a three-game streak without a Premier League goal, but a fourth successive defeat in the top flight leaves them down in 13th in the table ahead of the weekend's fixtures as one of three sides currently sat on 33 points.
The two-point gap to 10th-placed Southampton is by no means insurmountable following the Saints' midweek loss to Newcastle United, but Potter's side have lost their golden touch in recent weeks and have also conceded at least two goals in each of their four recent defeats.
Brighton have also picked up just one win from their last 10 Premier League matches at the Amex since the start of October - taking just two points from the last 12 on offer at home and scoring a mere 10 goals on familiar territory all season - and Liverpool are in no mood to let up.
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Alexis Sanchez did not have many fond memories of Anfield from his time as an Arsenal player, and his miserable Merseyside streak continued in the Champions League, with two high challenges on Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho seeing him sent for an early bath in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Sanchez's red card came two minutes after Lautaro Martinez's thunderbolt had given Inter hope of turning the tie around, but Klopp's side safely made it through to the quarter-finals 2-1 on aggregate following their first-leg success at San Siro.
However, the Reds' 12-game winning streak in all competitions came to an end at the hands of the Nerazzurri, while they also lost at Anfield for the first time in over a year, but domestically, this club has gone from strength to strength in 2022.
Indeed, a 1-0 win over West Ham United last Saturday marked the Reds' seventh triumph on the bounce in the Premier League, although they remain six points behind leaders Manchester City with a game in hand, and every game is now a cup final for the quadruple-chasing visitors.
Liverpool's seven-game winning run in the Premier League has also seen them concede a mere two goals while scoring a whopping 19, although they have failed to win any of their last three against Brighton, who managed to rescue a 2-2 draw at Anfield earlier this season.
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Team News
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Brighton boss Potter has conceded that Adam Webster will likely remain out injured until after the international break, with the centre-back still struggling to overcome a groin injury.
Enock Mwepu and Jeremy Sarmiento are stepping up their recoveries from thigh issues and are in contention to feature this weekend, and Potter did not report any fresh concerns from the Newcastle defeat.
Ex-Liverpool man Adam Lallana and Yves Bissouma could return to provide a greater midfield presence against the Reds, with Neal Maupay also vying for a recall over Danny Welbeck up front.
As for Liverpool, Roberto Firmino was not quite ready to return against Inter despite taking part in full training, but Klopp has confirmed that the Brazilian attacker will be back in the squad this weekend.
It remains to be seen if the knock that Ibrahima Konate sustained earlier in the week will also keep him out of this one, but Klopp has no major concerns to work around at a crucial time in the season.
Changes can be expected ahead of a trip to Arsenal next week, though, with Jordan Henderson and Luis Diaz primed to return to the first XI, while Thiago may be rested after only just coming back from a hamstring issue.
The Reds boss revealed in his pre-match press conference that his side were dealing with some fresh COVID-19 issues, but the identities of any affected players remain unknown.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Duffy; Lamptey, Moder, Bissouma, Gross, Cucurella; Trossard, Maupay
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Keita; Salah, Mane, Diaz
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Liverpool
Tiredness will soon start to set in for this overworked Liverpool outfit if it has not already, but a meeting with an out-of-sorts Brighton is a prime opportunity for the Reds to return to winning ways.
The Seagulls have proven to be a tough nut to crack for Klopp's side in recent months, but performances and goals at home are just not coming for the hosts, who will likely be swept aside by the title-chasing Reds.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Liverpool win with a probability of 62.66%. A draw had a probability of 21.6% and a win for Brighton & Hove Albion had a probability of 15.71%.
The most likely scoreline for a Liverpool win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (11.79%) and 1-2 (9.77%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.27%), while for a Brighton & Hove Albion win it was 1-0 (5.4%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with an 11.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 0-2 win for Liverpool in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Liverpool.
