Preview: Liverpool vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
Liverpool welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Anfield on Wednesday looking to make it three Premier League wins in a row for the first time since September.
The champions climbed back up to third in the table with a 3-1 victory at West Ham United on Sunday, shortly before Brighton beat Tottenham Hotspur to ease their relegation concerns.
After a miserable post-Christmas slump which saw Liverpool’s only win in seven attempts come against Aston Villa’s youngsters in the FA Cup, the champions now look to be finding their form again.
Last week was a good one for Jurgen Klopp’s side as they responded to being knocked out of the FA Cup by bitter rivals Manchester United with back-to-back league wins in London.
A 3-1 triumph over Tottenham handed them their first league win and first league goals of 2021, and crucially they then followed that up with a similarly impressive triumph over an in-form West Ham side.
The Reds still have their home form to fix too; after winning 32 of 33 league outings at Anfield. Indeed, Liverpool have not even scored at Anfield so far this calendar year, drawing blanks against Man United and Burnley, and they now risk going three home league games in a row without finding the back of the net for the first time since October 1984.
The Seagulls have kept clean sheets in each of their last three league outings and could keep four in a row for the first time since November, and for the first time ever in the top flight.
Graham Potter’s side have won two of those games 1-0 to build a seven-point buffer between themselves and the relegation zone, most recently overcoming Spurs at the Amex on Sunday night.
Brighton have not beaten Liverpool home or away in any competition since January 1984, losing 10 times and drawing twice in that period, although one of those draws did come in the reverse fixture as Pascal Gross rescued a point in stoppage time through a controversial penalty.
Liverpool Premier League form: DLDLWW
Liverpool form (all competitions): WDLLWW
Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form: LDLWDW
Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions): WLWWDW