BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION VS. LIVERPOOL

| Sunday, January 29th |
FA Cup | AmEx Community Stadium
1:30PM GMT/8:30AM EST

Weeks after losing to Brighton in what manager Jürgen Klopp then referred to as the “worst game he’s ever seen”, Liverpool are set to go again. This time, the Reds are taking the long trip to the southeast to play in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

You may recall, back in the magical days of 2022, that Liverpool Football Club won this trophy. They are, in fact, the current holders. However, it’s hard not to see them as the underdogs given their current spineless form.

Brighton keep scoring, and Liverpool keep letting teams score, and that doesn’t feel like the best combination, but I’m no expert.

Klopp’s side made it this far thanks to Harvey Elliott’s lovely strike in the third round replay against Wolves.

However, a bit of revenge against Brighton and moving onto the next round of the tournament would go a long way towards restoring some confidence in this team who have looked scare of their own shadow for months now.

So will Klopp, knowing this, play his strongest team on Sunday, or will he choose to give some players a break before their heavy February schedule that includes both a Merseyside derby and a visit by Real Madrid in the Champions League?

Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)

Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Konate, Tsimikas; Thiago, Bajcetic, Henderson; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo

Stefan Bajcetic just signed a new Liverpool contract, and we will likely see him starting Sunday’s match in the midfield. Third round hero Harvey Elliott may start as well.

Some players who won’t be involved on Sunday include Luis Diaz, Virgil van Dijk, Fabio Carvalho, Roberto Firmino, Arthur Melo, and Diogo Jota. Nat Phillips has a bad cold, but may be in his last days as a Liverpool player anyway. James Milner missed a practice, but it ready to go, according to Klopp.

For Brighton, Adam Lallana will miss out against his old team, and Jakub Moder, Levi Colwill and Facundo Buonanotte remain sidelined.

What the Managers Had to Say

Jurgen Klopp: “Against Brighton it’s massively important how we defend the first line. If the front three is not defending well they just pass through you. If you defend Brighton with seven players.... no chance. It’s about how we defend in general.”

Roberto De Zerbi: “It will be a different game, the last game was difficult, against Liverpool it will always be difficult. On Sunday we want to win and to play well. It’s possible to play better than we did against Leicester.”

The Officials

Referee: David Coote Assistant Referees: Darren Cann & Simon Long Fourth Official: Simon Hooper VAR: Neil Swarbrick AVAR: Scott Ledger

Kickoff is set for 1:30PM GMT/8:30AM EST tomorrow. Stick with The Liverpool Offside team to keep yourself up to date with team news and match buildup, live updates, and post-match reaction. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account and have your say on the action as it happens.