Match Preview: Brighton v Liverpool
A couple of weeks ago, trying to write an optimistic match preview ahead of Brighton v Liverpool would have been akin to being given the job as Fred West’s defence lawyer. Impossible.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds were letting nothing get in their way in the quest for their first English title since 1990. They had dropped only four points all season, an outstanding record the likes of which the top flight has not seen for a very long time.
Two weeks ago, that proved enough to crown Liverpool Premier League champions with seven games still to play. Their job was done and they have certainly played like it since, being hammered 4-0 by Manchester City and then scraping past Aston Villa at the weekend.
Which presents Brighton with a bit of an opportunity. Albion fans know better than most what a difference going on a celebratory piss up before the season ends can make to players, as evidenced by the way that Chris Hughton’s 2016-17 promotion winners managed to blow a seven point lead over Newcastle United to hand the Championship title to the Toon Army.
If Liverpool come to the Amex with their minds not on job, then who is to say Brighton cannot become the second team this season to defeat the Reds in the league? Yes, we are writing this after a bottle of weekday evening Merlot, but stranger things have happened.
A brief history of Liverpool
Liverpool are one of those clubs with a rather quirky story surrounding the founding. Back in Queen Victoria’s day, Everton were the tenants at Anfield until a disagreement over rent saw them relocate to their own stadium, newly built across Stanley Park.
To fill the void, a new team was formed – Liverpool. The Reds were moderately successful in the first 60 or so years of their history. It was with the arrival of the 1970s that they were transformed into the dominant force in English football for the next two decades.
Bill Shankly got the party started and he was followed by Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish, all of whom helped lead the club to a haul of 11 league titles and four European Cups. Having already secured seven championships in their earlier history, that left Liverpool way out in front when it came to league titles on 18.
We all know what happened next. At around the same times as Charles and Diana were divorced, so Liverpool fell from their perch. Manchester United overhauled their record number of championships and the Reds became a bit of a running joke, still capable of winning European Cups but never looking likely to get their hands on the trophy they most craved on Merseyside.
Liverpool this season
Until now of course. Klopp’s side haven’t just rewritten the history books, they have obliterated them. No side has won the title with seven games to go before and a good run of results between here and the end of he season could yet see them beat Manchester City’s points and goals scored records.
All of which makes it a little bizarre that they have gone off the boil since being crowned champions. The Reds have served up their two poorest performances of the campaign in their past two games, which makes it feel kind of inevitable that they will deliver a backlash at the Amex (sorry to disappoint those buoyed by our opening statements in this Brighton versus Liverpool match preview).
Brighton’s record against Liverpool
At risk of turning this into a bipolar match preview, here’s a quirky fact to re-inject some optimism – Brighton have beaten Liverpool on four occasions out of 30, and three of those have been when the Reds were reigning champions.
The Albion ran out 2-0 winners in an FA Cup Fourth Round tie at the Goldstone Ground in the 1983-84 season. A year earlier, Brighton won 2-1 at Anfield in the same competition – becoming the first visiting side to win a cup game there in nine years – and in the 1981-82 season, Andy Ritchie scored the only goal of the game in an Albion win on Merseyside.
Otherwise, Brighton have a pretty dreary record against the Redmen with eight draws and 18 defeats. The Albion have scored 33 times while Liverpool have 71 goals, nine of which came in the 2017-18 season and six in the infamous FA Cup clash at Anfield when Lewis Dunk and Liam Bridcutt scored three own goals between them.
Brighton’s head-to-head record with Liverpool
Last six meetings
• Liverpool 2-1 Brighton (Premier League, 30/11/19)
• Brighton 0-1 Liverpool (Premier League, 12/01/19)
• Liverpool 1-0 Brighton (Premier League, 25/08/18)
• Liverpool 4-0 Brighton (Premier League, 13/05/18)
• Brighton 1-5 Liverpool (Premier League, 19/08/17)
• Liverpool 6-1 Brighton (FA Cup Fifth Round, 19/02/12)
A quick glance at the past six meetings doesn’t make for great reading with six defeats. Two of those were desperately unlucky, however. At Anfield in November, Brighton had enough chances to leave with a point.
Dunk was the chief suspect, missing two glorious headers as well as scoring a clever quick free kick. Liverpool fan site Anfield Index described the last 10 minutes of that game as one of the most nervy of the Reds’ season so far.
Liverpool were also lucky on their previous visit to the Amex back in January 2019. The only goal of the game arrived from the penalty spot when Mo Salah went down in the box as if hit by a sniper from the West Upper.
Being cheated out of a draw was a bitter pill to take and even Chris Hughton was moved to criticise the officials afterwards, an occurrence rarer than a fizzy pint of Fosters at the Amex.
Team news
Graham Potter went with a fairly sensible line up for the 1-0 win at Norwich City on Saturday. Which probably means he will dream up something utterly bizarre designed to nullify Liverpool, only for it to all go horribly wrong, leading to a raft of half time changes to try and rectify the damage.
We do know that Steven Alzate is unlikely to feature again this season. The Colombian international had been due to undergo groin surgery during the enforced Premier League break, but that had to be postponed when he showed signs of coronavirus.
Potter said in his pre-match press conference that Alzate has been struggling with the issue ever since, hence why he has missed out on Brighton’s 20-man squad for the past four matches. The likelihood appears to be that the Albion will now operate in order to get Alzate fit and firing for the 2020-21 season.
Liverpool’s key players
Picking one or two key Liverpool players for this match preview is like trying to name the best pub in Brighton – there is far too much competition for the accolade.
Salah is hard to take to because of the unnecessary theatrics which accompany his game; that and he has been wrongly crowned as the Egyptian King when we all know that title actually belongs to Adam El-Abd.
Sadio Mane has been excellent and always comes across like a bloody good guy too. He also happens to be an excellent player and should be running Kevin Du Bruyne close when it comes to PFA Player of the Year.
A good WeAreBrighton.com memory of Liverpool at home
Jimmy Case’s Brighton testimonial was against Liverpool in 1994 and he had a whole host of guest players turn out at the Goldstone, including Matt Le Tissier in a Brighton shirt.
We have no recollection of the score, only that it was an absolute thrill to see Le Tis wearing blue and white stripes rather than red and white. Jimmy wasn’t sent off for being deaf either, which was a bonus.
A bad WeAreBrighton.com memory of Liverpool at home
That Salah dive, obviously.
Our favourite player to play for Brighton and Liverpool
Alan Navarro never made a competitive appearance for Liverpool, but he deserves to be named here if only for the wacky conspiracy theories he has been posting on Twitter over the past few months. That last minute winner away at The Leeds United in the 2011-12 season wasn’t bad, either.
What we like about Liverpool
Liverpool has this reputation as a slum, which must have been started by people who have never been to the city. Great pubs, real history and friendly locals make it arguably the best away day in the Premier League. How could you not like the place that gave the world Cilla Black?
Prediction
Liverpool can’t put in three poor performances in a row, can they? A 2-0 win to the champions – with Brighton delivering a match better showing than in last week’s defeat to Manchester United.
