Brighton & Hove Albion vs Liverpool Prediction, Best Bets, Odds

Brighton Hove Albion vs Liverpool Predictions

FA Cup Is Liverpool’s Best Chance of Silverware in Poor Season

Until the final few weeks of last season, Liverpool stood a chance of completing an unprecedented quadruple. Never before has an English club won all four major trophies in a single campaign, but Jurgen Klopp’s side were aiming to do exactly that in the closing stages of 2021/22.

With the FA Cup and the EFL Cup already in the bag, Liverpool narrowly trailed Manchester City in the Premier League title race and were due to face Real Madrid in the final of the Champions League. A place in the history books was within tantalizing reach.

In the end, the Reds had to settle for two pieces of silverware. Despite a scare on the final day, Manchester City held off Liverpool to win the Premier League. And a combination of Vinicius Junior’s goal and Thibaut Courtois’ heroics earned Real Madrid a 1-0 victory in the Champions League’s showpiece event. 

Fast forward a few months and the chances of Liverpool winning two trophies this season are very slim indeed. The Premier League title and the EFL Cup are gone. The Reds remain in the FA Cup, but this is a very tricky fourth-round tie. And they must beat Real Madrid to even reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

It increasingly feels like last season was the Liverpool team’s last big gasp. A side that enjoyed so much success between 2017 and 2022 now needs to be rebuilt. As such, this season - and possibly the next one too - is one of transition for the Reds. 

Liverpool are up against it in the hunt for a top-four finish in the Premier League, so we could see them turn their attention to competitions like the FA Cup and the Champions League, starting with Sunday’s showdown on the south coast.

Brighton Are One of the Best Teams in English Soccer Right Now

Arsenal and Newcastle United are the Premier League’s biggest overachievers at the midway point of the campaign, but Brighton are not far behind that duo. 

The Seagulls might just be the best-run club in English soccer. They continue to go from strength to strength under the ownership of Tony Bloom, and European qualification looks like a realistic objective this term. That would be quite the achievement for a club that was still playing in the third tier a little over a decade ago. 

As a measure of how smartly run they are, consider how Brighton responded to the loss of manager Graham Potter earlier this season. After a fine start to the season, the Seagulls saw their coach poached by Chelsea, a club higher up the food chain. 

They did not panic. Brighton, you feel, already had a shortlist of potential candidates to work through even before Potter was approached by Chelsea. Roberto De Zerbi was the man they appointed and he has done an excellent job since taking charge in the middle of September.

Another area in which Brighton excels is recruitment. They have a network of scouts across the globe and have made a habit of acquiring players from countries such as Argentina (Alexis Mac Allister), Japan (Karou Mitoma), and Ecuador (Moises Caicedo). 

In recent years it has been more common for talents from those regions to move to a smaller European league first, but Brighton have skipped that step and they are now reaping the rewards. 

Sixth in the Premier League and by no means out of the race for the top four, Brighton are one of the best teams in England right now.

Brighton Can Knock the Holders Out of the FA Cup This Weekend

These two teams met in the Premier League earlier this month and it was a very one-sided encounter. Brighton ran out 3-0 winners in the end, as a Solly March brace and a goal from Danny Welbeck put Liverpool to the sword. “I can’t remember a worse game [in my managerial career],” Klopp said afterward.

Brighton comprehensively outplayed Liverpool and it would only be natural if that defeat plays on the minds of Klopp’s players ahead of Sunday’s match. 

Liverpool were flat in a 0-0 draw with Chelsea last time out. There is a notable lack of energy in their play right now, which will make this game even tougher. Brighton circulate the ball quickly and press from the front, so Liverpool will not be afforded time to play their way into the match.

The Reds are the favorites with the best online sportsbooks, but that is due to reputation more than anything else. Brighton are full of confidence and will take the game to Liverpool, who struggled immensely at the Amex Stadium just two weeks ago. Back a home win here.