Brighton
It appears that Roberto De Zerbi, the manager of Brighton Football Club, has a clear vision for the team and is not afraid to make bold decisions to achieve it. He has shown a willingness to play young and talented players if they are performing well and as a result, the team has been achieving positive results.
Roberto De Zerbi has acknowledged the disappointment of the team’s exit from the League Cup and it seems that the team is taking the FA Cup seriously as they aim to reach the final for the first time in 38 years. The recent strong victory against Middlesbrough further supports this and Brighton has a recent history of success in the competition having reached the semi-final in 2019, where they were narrowly defeated by Manchester City.
Brighton had a streak of 3 wins in all competitions before drawing 2-2 at Leicester City last weekend, they were able to score a late goal to secure a point. The team has been achieving positive results mainly away from home, but they were able to break their 2 game losing streak at home by defeating Liverpool 3-0 two weeks ago.
The squad that was available last weekend is expected to be in action on Sunday. While the manager may make some changes to the lineup, it is likely that a strong team will be selected as this is a crucial game for Brighton and the team should be chosen as if it were a Premier League fixture.
Liverpool
With more dropped points in the Premier League, Liverpool is facing increasing pressure to close the gap on the current top four teams. Despite having half a season left to play, the team will be looking to avoid missing out on Champions League places. Jurgen Klopp, the team’s manager, is currently working to find the right formula to get his team back to their usual level of performance.
Last season, Liverpool won both domestic Cup competitions and defending the FA Cup may be the best route for the team to secure silverware again during what has been a difficult season for the team. They needed a replay to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the last round, but they were able to secure the victory in Molineux. Since losing at Manchester United in 2021, Liverpool has won their last 2 away FA Cup ties.
Liverpool has won only 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions, and they have failed to score in their last 2 Premier League games. They were defeated 3-0 at the Amex Stadium a couple of weeks ago, but they did manage to win their next game at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A number of Liverpool’s attacking players are still unavailable, but the team hasn’t sustained any additional injuries following the goalless draw with Chelsea. Jurgen Klopp made some changes to the lineup for that game and it is likely that he will rotate the squad again.
Head to Head
Brighton and Liverpool have already met twice this season in the Premier League, where Brighton has scored three times in each game. They earned a 3-3 draw at Anfield and then secured a 3-0 victory over Liverpool at the Amex Stadium.
Before their 3-0 victory over Liverpool, Brighton had not won any of the 7 home games against Liverpool and had lost 6 of those fixtures.
TWV Sport Team Thoughts
Roberto De Zerbi has made it clear that he takes the FA Cup seriously, especially after the disappointment of losing to Charlton Athletic in the League Cup Fourth Round. Brighton are a team that are performing well in the Premier League, and winning silverware would be a significant achievement for the team and evidence of the progress they have made.
The FA Cup is definitely a competition that Brighton can aim to win, especially if they can beat Liverpool on Sunday. If they can do that, then at least half of the “Big Six” and Newcastle United will have been eliminated from the competition, which would give Brighton fans a lot of reason for optimism.
Liverpool is currently not playing at their best and their lack of goals is a major concern for Jurgen Klopp. Although they had two consecutive clean sheets, they did not looked convincing in their games against Wolves and Chelsea, and the team will not have forgotten the difficult time they had when they played against Brighton a couple of weeks ago.
Brighton were definitely the better team when they played against Liverpool a couple of weeks ago and it’s unlikely that much has changed since then. The Seagulls are still attacking with a lot of energy and scoring a lot of goals, and I think that may be too much for Liverpool to handle in what has been a disappointing season for them, especially after their successes in 2021/22.
Score Prediction
Brighton 1 – 0 Liverpool
