Liverpool welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Anfield on Saturday night for their fourth round FA Cup tie in what is an all-Premier League clash.
Liverpool bounced back from their dramatic late loss at home to Manchester City on Sunday, as they won 0-1 away at Sunderland on Wednesday night, inflicting the Black Cats’ first home defeat this season.
That was just their second win from their last eight Premier League encounters (W2-D4-L2), with Arne Slot’s men remaining in sixth position in the Premier League table, but they are now just three points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United.
The Reds advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup thanks to a 4-1 victory over League One side Barnsley at Anfield last month.
Brighton had a more difficult task in the last round of this competition, as they won 1-2 at Old Trafford against Manchester United.
However, the Seagulls’ poor league form continued on Wednesday night, as they lost 1-0 at Villa Park against Aston Villa, leaving the Seagulls languishing in 14th-position, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
That’s now six games without a win in the Premier League for Fabian Hurzeler’s visitors (W0-D3-L3) and just one in their past 13 (W1-D6-L6), with that coming at home to relegation-threatened Burnley.
How the bookies view it: Liverpool favourites
Liverpool are favourites to advance to the next round of the FA Cup, with bet365 pricing the Reds at just 1/4 To Qualify, with the win inside 90 minutes priced at 8/15.
Brighton are 11/4 underdogs to follow up their success at Old Trafford in the previous round, whilst the win inside regulation time is priced at 9/2.
Head to head: More Reds success at home?
Liverpool have won four of their last five meetings with Brighton – including each of their last three at Anfield – with the latest of those coming in a 2-0 success in December.
Players to watch: Hugo to bag against the Seagulls again?
Hugo Ekitike was the hero when these two sides met at Anfield in the league meeting in December, as he scored both goals in a two-nil victory.
The ex-Eintracht Frankfurt frontman also scored in the previous round against Barnsley, and I like the look of the 10/11 on offer at PaddyPower for the Frenchman to find the target once again on Saturday.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Liverpool will still be missing Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong, Wataru Endo and Alexander Isak through injury, but Dominik Szoboszlai returns from suspension.
Brighton will be missing Adam Webster, Solly March and Stefanos Tzimas due to injury, whilst Mats Wieffer and Yasin Ayari are doubts.
Liverpool: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo, Salah, Ekiteke
Brighton & Hove Albion: Steele, Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Hinshelwood, Gross, Milner, Gomez, Mitoma, Welbeck
Anything else catch the eye?
Liverpool’s matches have been a nightmare to predict this season, given they have been consistently inconsistent, but you would expect them to get the job done here.
The Seagulls knocked out Manchester United at Old Trafford in the previous round, but they have won just one of their previous 13 Premier League matches, scoring just four goals across their last six encounters.
Liverpool won the league meeting between these two clubs at Anfield 2-0 as recently as December, and the 23/20 on offer at Coral/Ladbrokes for a Liverpool Win & Under 4.5 Goals appeals to me.
GambleAware