Liverpool vs Brighton

BPL 2018-19 – Liverpool vs Brighton Match Preview

Liverpool back in action as they take on Brighton at Anfield! A fixture that wasn’t close last season at all, Liverpool winning 1-5 and 4-0. Many expect the same here given the way Liverpool have performed so far this season, but Brighton will be full of confidence after dispatching Man Utd 3-2. It’s highly unlikely that we’ll see a close contest but hey who knows, there’s a reason games are played.

Liverpool

Liverpool have made a promising start to the season and have lived up to the hype so far. Liverpool have beaten West Ham 4-0 and picked up a very impressive win at an in form Crystal Palace winning 0-2. Sadio Mane has been in fantastic form so far scoring 3 of Liverpool’s goals and he is the leading scorer. One thing that we’ve noticed about Liverpool is that their backline looks the best it ever did under Klopp. They don’t look shaky at all, van Dijk has been the standout, Allison has been looking good in goal unlike Karius who they sold to Besiktas, he seems solid. Keita is another standout player, he has dominated the midfield in both games. Overall, Liverpool has been in scorching red hot form and they are expected to put on a show against Brighton.

Now coming into the game against Brighton, of course we can expect much of the same from Liverpool. Team news wise, Lovren is still out while Ox is also still out and will be out for months. Other than those two, everyone else is healthy and ready to go. New signing Fabinho is yet to play this season for Liverpool and may feature on the bench again. Liverpool have fielded the same lineup for the first two games; it’s quite likely that Klopp will field the same lineup again. Joe Gomez still in for Lovren while Keita, Wijnaldum, Milner are expected to be the midfield trio with Henderson and Fabinho on the bench and of course the wing backs and the front 3 will stay the same. Don’t expect Klopp to rotate the squad due to great form, it would be weird to change up something that works.

Brighton

Brighton’s start to the season seems to reflect the story of last year. Poor away from home, very tough to beat at home. They made a losing start to Watford 2-0, being outplayed in every aspect of the game and the players even got called out by their manager Chris Hughton after that performance. However, Brighton bounced back with a historic win against Man United beating them 3-2, scoring all 3 goals in the first half. That was their second straight win over United and they made it 2 out of 2 at home since getting promoted. Brighton have actually dominated the first half against United, then surrendered control and possession in the second half but they did enough to hold on to the lead. Brighton put in a good defensive shift, unfortunately Lewis Dunk got hurt but Leon Balogun filled in and played very well alongside Shane Duffy. Going forward they ripped United apart in the first half as mentioned with the 3 goals, United’s poor defending did contribute to Brighton looking so good you’d have to say too.

Now, Brighton face another big 6 side and it’s a much better side than what United look like right now. Brighton lost this fixture 4-0 at Anfield last season, they are an awful away side going back to last season and they must find a way to overcome that weakness because if they turn up to Anfield like they did at Watford, they could lose and lose big. Defensively, it’s going to be key for them to snuff out Liverpool’s deadly attack. Whether Brighton have enough defence powers to hold off Liverpool is doubtful, they’ll have to count on luck for sure. Not having Lewis Dunk in the lineup could prove costly, he is the captain and as good as Balogun looked against United, you would still rather have Lewis Dunk in the lineup for this game. Brighton’s best shot at scoring will be long balls and set pieces. They do excel at direct play.

Team news wise, as mentioned Dunk is out and Balogun is expected to make his first start as a Brighton player. Captain Bruno is out, Izquiredo and Andone are also out. Missing 2 key backline players could really come costly Brighton, they did well last week but it was against a dysfunctional side who helped Brighton look as good as they did at times. Liverpool are a whole different animal and not having a fully healthy backline could be brutal. Brighton will play on the backfoot and their best hope at getting something out of this is play above their capabilities and ride some luck. It’s a near impossible task for Brighton to win this, but there’s always a glimmer of hope.

What To Expect

Our prediction would be a dominant Liverpool win. Brighton missing 2 key players at the back in one of the toughest away days will come to haunt them. Liverpool destroyed West Ham at Anfield 4-0 and Brighton are arguably a worse team. Last season, Liverpool won this fixture 4-0 as mentioned and they’ve gotten even stronger now. Brighton’s away record is very unconvincing and we expect them to look a little more like they did at Watford than last week. Mane should get on the scoresheet again and Liverpool will win about 4-0, maybe more. Liverpool -2.5 asian handicap is priced at 2.15 and its definitely a value bet.

Match Odds (TonyBet)

Liverpool Win – 1.17

Draw – 8.25

Brighton Win – 20.00

KICK OFF – 25th August 2018 – 5:30pm UK Time