Match Preview: Liverpool vs Brighton - A Crucial Afternoon at Anfield

Liverpool return to Anfield on Saturday for a meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion that feels as significant emotionally as it does competitively. Both sides sit locked on 23 points after 15 games, both enduring uneven seasons, and both arriving at Anfield with questions hanging over their identity and resilience.

For Liverpool, still reeling from a chaotic 3-3 draw at Leeds, this match offers a chance to steady themselves after a turbulent fortnight dominated by late defensive collapses, injuries, and the fallout from Mohamed Salah’s explosive interview. For Brighton, who have quietly climbed to eighth under Fabian Hürzeler, it represents an opportunity to defeat Liverpool in back-to-back league meetings for the first time in their history.

The stakes are clear: win, and Liverpool could finally build momentum heading into the festive schedule. Drop points again, and doubts around Arne Slot’s stewardship will intensify.

Liverpool’s Stuttering Defence of the Crown

The numbers are stark. With six defeats in fifteen league matches and 24 goals conceded, Liverpool are enduring the worst start to a title defence since Leicester’s ill-fated 2016–17 campaign. They have also failed to score in the first half of their last five league matches, their longest such run since 2021.

Their recent Premier League form reads:
W1, D2, L1 — steadying themselves in Europe but stumbling domestically.

The draw at Elland Road last weekend exposed familiar issues. Liverpool dominated spells, created chances, and led three times, yet twice threw the game away late on. Slot lamented the pattern afterward:

“It’s not the first time we’ve conceded late. The ones to blame are us.”

And the statistics underline his frustration: Liverpool have conceded 48 goals in 35 Premier League matches in 2025, nearing the 50-goal mark that only 2012 and 2014 Liverpool sides breached.

If Liverpool are to regain rhythm, it must start with defensive discipline.

Salah Benched Again — and His Future Uncertain

The subtext to this match is the controversy surrounding Mohamed Salah, benched for three straight Premier League fixtures and unused in two of them. The Egyptian’s extraordinary interview after the Leeds draw has cast a cloud over Anfield.

His omission for a third consecutive match would once have been unthinkable. But with Slot now leaning heavily toward Dominik Szoboszlai on the right and with Salah set to depart for AFCON after next weekend, the manager may again opt for a different structure.

Liverpool’s possible XI suggests another reshuffle:

Alisson; Gomez, Konaté, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Jones, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai, Isak, Wirtz

The questions follow:
Is this temporary rotation, tactical necessity — or the beginning of a significant shift at Liverpool?

Brighton: Dangerous, Unpredictable, and Improving

Fabian Hürzeler has quietly constructed a Brighton side that blends technical fluidity with defensive discipline. They remain unbeaten in two away games, keeping clean sheets in both — something they haven’t achieved three times in a row since mid-2020.

Brighton sit eighth, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, yet their season has been equally inconsistent. Their form guide reads:

D-W-L-W-D in the league.

Still, they carry threat:

• 25 goals scored (one more than Liverpool)
• Line-breaking machine Jan Paul van Hecke leads the Premier League with 217 passes breaking lines
• Danny Welbeck, Minteh, and Rutter form a fluid front trio capable of stretching defences

But they also carry a curse:
Brighton haven’t won a Premier League match in December in eight attempts (D5 L3).

Recent meetings favour neither team comfortably — Liverpool have won 16 of 28, Brighton five, with seven draws — but crucially, the last league encounter ended Brighton 3–2 Liverpool in May. The Seagulls have never repeated the feat consecutively.

Key Tactical Themes

1. Liverpool’s Slow Starts vs Brighton’s Midfield Control

Liverpool have scored only 25% of their goals in the first half this season.
Brighton thrive when dictating tempo early — and van Hecke’s progressive passing is central to that.

If Liverpool start passively, they risk being punished.

2. Wirtz, Isak, and the Creativity Conundrum

Florian Wirtz is likely to return to the XI. His positional intelligence is crucial against Brighton’s compact shape.
Alexander Isak must become more involved: Slot admitted this week that:

“We have to make sure he gets touches where it matters.”

He has averaged just 14 touches per match in his last three league starts.

3. Brighton’s Defensive Vulnerability After Halftime

Brighton have conceded in the second half in 11 of their 14 matches.
Liverpool score 71% of their goals after halftime, and 48% in the final 15 minutes.

The match may hinge on the last quarter.

Injury News

Liverpool

• Out: Gakpo, Leoni, Bradley (suspended)
• Doubts: Frimpong, Chiesa, Endo
• Salah: Unclear whether he will feature before AFCON departure

Brighton

• Out: Tzimas, March, Webster, Milner
• Doubts: Mitoma, Ayari, Watson

Prediction

This is a meeting of two teams capable of brilliance but guilty of inconsistency — both equally likely to win 3–1 as they are to collapse under pressure. Brighton’s structure will challenge Liverpool, and their confidence away from home is growing. Liverpool’s resilience, meanwhile, continues to be questioned.

But with Anfield behind them, a response expected, and Brighton’s December woes looming, Liverpool may edge a tense contest.

Prediction: Liverpool 2–1 Brighton
—but only if Slot’s side finally show the control they’ve lacked for weeks.