Liverpool v Brighton: Line-ups, stats and preview

Match Preview

Liverpool head into their final Premier League game before Mohamed Salah departs for the Africa Cup of Nations with the situation surrounding him still casting a shadow over events on the pitch.

The Reds prevailed 1-0 against Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday amid the continued fallout from Salah’s comments after their 3-3 draw at Leeds United last Saturday.

Salah, whose omission from the game at Elland Road marked the third successive match in which he had been left on the bench, said he had been “thrown under the bus” and claimed he no longer had a relationship with manager Arne Slot.

Liverpool were impressively resolute in his absence at San Siro and claimed all three points thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai’s contentious late penalty.

But the Reds have not claimed back-to-back wins since November 4, when they followed up a victory over Aston Villa by beating Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Consistency is what has eluded Liverpool to this point, and they face a Brighton side that has had similar issues.

Brighton followed up successive wins over Brentford and Nottingham Forest with defeat to Villa in a seven-goal thriller and a 1-1 home draw with West Ham.

The Seagulls are ahead of Liverpool on goal difference in what is an extremely tight Premier League table, both teams having collected 23 points.

Georginio Rutter salvaged a point for Brighton against the relegation-threatened Hammers and, while the trip to Anfield is daunting, he is confident Fabian Hürzeler’s side can find momentum over the course of a packed schedule over the Festive period.

“Of course, we have some very important games,” Rutter told Brighton’s official website.

“If we take as many points as possible it can be good for the future and maybe play Europe, but we have to take it game by game, it’s more important. If we think already about Europe, you can be a bit confused. We have to take it game by game.

“We have to be more consistent. That is a bit the problem, but we have to work on it. I believe in my team, so we’re going to do better. I don’t have doubts about this.”

Team news for Liverpool v Brighton

After his omission against Inter, it seems likely Salah will again be left out.

Fellow forward Cody Gakpo is set for a few weeks on the sideline with an unspecified injury.

The Reds will hope to get Jeremie Frimpong back from a hamstring injury, while Federico Chiesa could return after missing the win over Inter through illness.

Solly March is back in training for Brighton following a long injury lay-off but is unlikely to feature.

Centre-back Adam Webster is Brighton’s only other absentee with a knee ligament injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season.

Predicted line-ups for Liverpool v Brighton

Liverpool: Alisson, Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai, MacAllister, Gakpo, Ekitike.

Brighton: Verbruggen, Wieffer, Van Hecke, Dunk, De Cuyper, Baleba, Gomez, Minteh, Rutter, Kadioglu, Welbeck.

How to watch Liverpool v Brighton: TV and online streams

Liverpool v Brighton kicks off at 3pm UK time on Saturday. It will not be broadcast live in the UK.

Stats for Liverpool v Brighton

• Liverpool have lost just one of their eight Premier League home matches against Brighton (W5 D2).
• Brighton beat Liverpool 3-2 in their last meeting in May but have never before beaten the Reds in consecutive league matches.
• Liverpool have just 23 points (W7 D2 L6) and have conceded 24 goals in the Premier League this season, the worst start by a reigning champion in both categories after 15 games since Leicester City in 2016-17 (16 points, 26 conceded).
• Brighton have kept a clean sheet in each of their last two away Premier League matches – the Seagulls have not kept three in a row since between March and July 2020.
• Liverpool have conceded 48 goals in 35 Premier League games in 2025 – only twice before have they allowed 50+ goals in a year in the competition, doing so in 2012 (51) and 2014 (52).
• Brighton are winless in their last eight Premier League matches in December (D5 L3) – manager Fabian Hürzeler has won a match in each of the other nine months in which he has taken charge with the Seagulls.

Prediction for Liverpool v Brighton