15:00, Saturday 30th October 2021 Anfield, Liverpool Premier League Referee: Mike Dean
Liverpool’s home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in early February last season felt like the moment that shoulders truly dropped for many. Following seven-goal haul at Selhurst Park just prior to Christmas, the Reds had taken just 3 points (three draws) from five matches over Christmas & though January – a 4 point advantage at the top of the table had turned to a 6 point deficit; an alarming downturn for a side who had been almost peerless for two & a half seasons but who found themselves ravaged by injury. Two 3-1 away wins to Spurs and West Ham – including a delicious breakaway goal by Mo Salah, via now-departed Xherdan Shaqiri in the latter – had offered some hope, but Liverpool’s inability to recover from a Steven Alzate goal early in the second half put the brakes on any renewed optimism and set alarm bells ringing. Jurgen Klopp described his team as “mentally fatigued” following the match. Both the league table – with the Reds 7-points behind game-in-hand Man City – and upcoming fixtures against sides above them in the league offered little respite for the fatigue, only adding more pressure amidst poor form.
Brighton have made an excellent start to the 2021-22 campaign, and find themselves in an impressive 5th position after nine matches. This opening stretch has been a bit of a season of two halves thus far, however – Potter’s side won four of their opening five, but now find themselves winless in four; having been defeated by only Everton and Man City so far, though, there remains plenty of cause for optimism for supporters of the Seagulls. Potter himself seemed upbeat after the 4-1 defeat to City last week – such a result need not be considered remarkable for Albion, and the team recovered well to put in a respectable second-half showing. The goals columns show 9 for and 9 against for Brighton – further indication that, with further firepower, the top half could become familiar territory. They face a run of games that – though winnable – could go either way after their trip to Anfield: November games against Newcastle, Villa, and Leeds are the sort that could really set the tone for the remainder of the season, seeing Brighton maintain their impressive opening form or drift down into the bottom half.
Our own start to the season – combined with the impressive salvage job at the end of 2020-21 – has been excellent. The Reds are nineteen league games unbeaten since mid-March, and sit a point behind Chelsea in 2nd. Back-to-back draws with Brentford and City – immediately followed by an international break – might have disrupted lesser sides, but Liverpool have been emphatic since that break: a deeply-satisfying 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid at Anfield sandwiched between 5-0 league victories over Watford and Manchester United. Liverpool are full of confidence and – led by the peerless Mo Salah – have an attack that looks back to its best. Indeed, back to being the very best there is. None of the trio fancied for the title face one another again in the league this calendar year, and so for Liverpool – like the others – this weekend and the coming months really are just about getting the job done.
A week of League Cup – rather than European – football comes at a good time for Liverpool, with the Reds midfield having been somewhat depleted during recent weeks. Klopp will likely make wholesale changes and give most senior players a rest against Preston, whilst Potter takes his side to face Leicester – a tricky tie in a competition that both sides might fancy a run in. The home side are likely to still be without Thiago for Brighton, whilst James Milner will also miss out after picking up an injury against United – Naby Keita, thankfully, is likely to be available after a lucky escape in the same match. The visitors, meanwhile, are at relatively full-strength aside from long-term absences of Danny Welbeck and Steven Alzate, the match-winner in February.