Brighton & Hove Albion vs Liverpool Preview – Prediction, team news & line-ups | OneFootball

Amex Stadium forms the backdrop for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie between Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool.

Destined to better last season’s ninth-place finish in the Premier League, the Seagulls hit back late to hold relegation-threatened Leicester City to an action-packed 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium last weekend.

Despite being knocked down from a perfect three-game start to the new calendar year, all competitions included (W3), Roberto De Zerbi’s charges showcased their well-documented scoring prowess again.

Leandro Trossard may have left Brighton for runaway Premier League leaders Arsenal last week, yet an outrageous tally of 14 goals in their last four competitive matches speaks volumes.

A 3-0 demolition of Liverpool in the Premier League in mid-January forms part of that impressive run, highlighting the visitors’ desire to repay the favour and maintain their FA Cup title defence.

Having already bowed out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Manchester City, the Reds turn their attention to the other cup competition they conquered last season.

But Jurgen Klopp’s men head into proceedings in the midst of a rough patch after picking up just one win in their last five competitive games courtesy of a 1-0 beating of Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup.

While Liverpool had to survive dramatic moments in their third-round replay against Wolves, Brighton soared into round four in style, dismantling second-tier Middlesbrough 5-1 on the road.

Match Preview

Brighton & Hove Albion

High-flying Brighton hold fond memories of their recent FA Cup fourth-round ties, having progressed beyond this stage in three of their last four attempts.

The narrative does change when taking on reigning holders, as they’ve lost their last two FA Cup matches when playing the defending champions, most recently succumbing to Arsenal in 2014/15.

De Zerbi’s men should be confident about bucking that trend after netting precisely three goals in both this season’s Premier League showdowns against Liverpool (W1, D1).

Liverpool

Following a humiliating defeat at the Amex earlier this month, Liverpool stare down the barrel of back-to-back H2H losses against Brighton for the first time in their history.

Another toothless attacking showing last weekend saw the Reds share the spoils with fellow mid-table Premier League strugglers Chelsea in a scoreless draw at Stamford Bridge, casting doubt on their hopes of getting back at the Seagulls.

Liverpool can at least find some inspiration in keeping consecutive clean sheets in domestic action after going seven straight fixtures without a shutout beforehand.

Team News

Except for long-term absentee Jakub Moder, Brighton boss De Zerbi will have the remainder of his squad fit and firing on Sunday after Joel Veltman rejoined the fold against Leicester last time out.

In stark contrast to Brighton’s injury-free roster, Liverpool will be without talismanic captain Virgil van Dijk and star forwards Diogo Jota, Robert Firmino and Luis Diaz.

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Liverpool Potential Line-ups

Brighton & Hove Albion (4-2-3-1): Robert Sanchez; Tariq Lamptey, Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Pervis Estupinan; Moises Caicedo, Pascal Gross; Solly March, Alexis Mac Allister, Kaoru Mitoma; Evan Ferguson.

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson; Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara; Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez.

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Liverpool Prediction

If the Premier League encounter earlier in January is anything to go by, Brighton should stroll into the next round, considering they utterly outclassed Liverpool in that match.

However, vengeance sometimes serves as a powerful motive, and since the Reds are no longer in contention for other domestic titles, they may as well go for broke here.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see a replay, though.

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Liverpool