Liverpool vs Brighton Match Preview, Predictions & Free Bets
Dan Tracey A huge Sunday of Premier League action starts with Liverpool playing host to Brighton at Anfield.
Very Super Sunday
While once this game is complete, everyone connected with Liverpool will be quickly turning their attention to whatever unfolds at the Etihad. Is this going to be the most pivotal week of the season?
Watching It Unfold
Bruised after being dumped out of the FA Cup by historic rivals Manchester United but a fortnight worth of league inactivity will have given Liverpool the perfect opportunity to get in some rest and recuperation before this Premier League season resumes.
Admittedly, there would not have been as much as two weeks rest for Liverpool’s cabal of superstars and with a large majority of the squad being called away on international duty, their manager Jurgen Klopp will have to make sure no more names are added to their injury list.
A list that still a little too long for comfort has at least got smaller in recent weeks and although the kids have been more than alright when called upon, it is time for the experienced element of the squad to step up to the task in hand.
A task that sees Liverpool start the weekend lying second in the Premier League table and with only goal difference separating Arsenal and themselves at the summit, what the Gunners do at the Etihad just a few hours later will have a huge bearing on where the league crown goes.
With at least one of City or Arsenal guaranteed to drop points on Sunday, Liverpool are in the perfect opposition to pounce. The question is what suits them better? A win for Manchester City to tighten the bunch but put the Reds top or a draw where two rivals harm each other’s chances.
Then again, we may be working on the assumption that Liverpool win and with Brighton arriving at Anfield on Sunday, recent developments in the managerial market may have also made this game a live job interview for Roberto De Zerbi.
With the news that Xabi Alonso is staying at Bayer Leverkusen next season, the hunt for a new Liverpool manager continues and with the Spaniard ruling himself out of the race, De Zerbi has now become second favourite with the bookmakers.
A position that will certainly have Brighton supporters worried but at the same time, the system that is in place at The Amex is designed for managers to slot in and out with ease. De Zerbi slotted in perfectly after the departure of Graham Potter, life will go on when the Italian departs.
Of course, it was Anfield that gave De Zerbi his Premier League bow and with Liverpool and Brighton playing out an incredible six-goal thriller, that 3-3 draw announced the former Sassuolo manager to observers of English football and they have liked what they have seen since.
But now it is time for the first of my two tips and with Brighton having not lost any of their last three trips to Anfield, I am going to back them to put the cat amongst the pigeons in terms of the title race. You can back them in the double chance market at odds of 2/1.
In addition to this, I am also going to back Lewis Dunk to be the first player to be carded. The Brighton defender did not have a great time on international duty and the first ticking off by the referee on Sunday will pay out a rather tempting price of 9/1.
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