Friday, March 29, 2024

Prediction: Liverpool vs Brighton

Veselin Trajkovic in Free Soccer Predictions 29 Nov 2019

688 Views

Verdict: Sadio Mane to score

Best odds: 17/20

Bookmaker: 888sport

Liverpool are set to welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to Anfield on Saturday afternoon in the 14th round of the Premier League season.

Liverpool

There isn’t much need to discuss this Liverpool team and the work Jurgen Klopp has done since his appointment to the Anfield dugout four years ago. The Champions League trophy on their shelf and the current state of the Premier League table speak a lot for themselves.

Nonetheless, their week hasn’t gone quite as well as they would have liked. They played Napoli on Wednesday in the Champions League and failed to win the game, which ended in a draw instead, which means they haven’t secured passage to the knockout stages and will have to get a result in the last round away to RB Salzburg. To further compound their evening, midfielder Fabinho was forced to go off after only 18 minutes with an ankle injury, and the club have now confirmed the presence of ligament damage and Fabinho’s absence for the rest of the year.

On the other hand, much has gone their way in the Premier League. They failed to win only one of the previous 13 games, a 1-1 draw away to arch-rivals Manchester United. But at Anfield, every opponent so far has been beaten, including the defending champions Manchester City. Naturally, with such form, they top the table at the moment with an eight-point advantage over second-place Leicester City, and they will be highly motivated to continue the run in the quest to win their first league title after three decades.

Team News

Apart from Fabinho who is obviously out, defender Joel Matip is also missing with a knee problem, which means Dejan Lovren, who scored against Napoli in midweek, is set to continue alongside Virgil van Dijk in the heart of defence. Winger Xherdan Shaqiri is back from injury.

Brighton and Hove Albion

The Seagulls have had a decent season themselves so far. Of course, the level of expectation is quite different for this team, and their current position in the table (12th with 15 points to their name) can’t exactly be described as disappointing. Manager Graham Potter has a good team at his disposal, and they’ve so far managed to give top sides quite a lot of trouble – they beat Tottenham Hotspur at home by 3-0, for example.

They certainly know where they are going – to a place where no team earned a Premier League point this season, but they will hope to take advantage of any potential fatigue effects after Liverpool’s Champions League exploits mid-week, as well as the potential lack of spirit in the home team’s squad following the news of Fabinho’s injury.

Team News

Midfielder Solly March will probably sit this one out with a groin problem, but striker Aaron Connolly is back from the same injury. Defender Lewis Dunk is back from suspension which forced him to miss the Leicester clash last week.

Conclusion

Yes Brighton can be a tough opponent, but nonetheless, it’s hard to imagine this game ending in any result that’s not a Liverpool win. And given the current form his on, expect Sadio Mane to have a say in it.

Verdict: Sadio Mane to score

Best odds: 17/20

Bookmaker: 888sport

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Veselin Trajkovic


Vesko is a football writer that likes to observe the game for what it is, focusing on teams, players and their roles, formations, tactics, rather than stats. He follows the English Premier League closely, Liverpool FC in particular. His articles have been published on seven different football blogs.

SHARE OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

WE RECOMMEND

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This field is required *

Join the conversation!

or Register

Live Scores

advertisement

Betting Guide Advertisement

advertisement

Become a Writer
More More
Top