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.
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.
Links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD
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
