Liverpool manager Arne Slot said that the players he gave gametime to in their 3-2 victory over Brighton in the EFL Cup in midweek gave him something to think about ahead of their league meeting with the same opposition this weekend. (More Football News)
“I really liked what I saw from players who haven’t played much so far this season. That makes it even harder for me to make line ups in the upcoming weeks,” he told The Mirror.
Cody Gakpo scored a brace in midweek and is now pushing for what would be only his third league start of the season.
“In the second half of last season Cody scored a lot of goals so he’s been a good player for Liverpool for a long time now. He continues doing that and that’s a good thing.
“For me, he is a regular starter. Not starting every game, but he’s started on a regular basis. There is tough competition with Luis Diaz.
"It’s normal at a club like Liverpool to have two quality players for every position. If you look at Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah, who was unlucky with the goals we conceded, their overall performances I liked and they are in competition with Virgil [van Dijk] and Ibou [Konate].
Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler has confirmed that Joao Pedro is back in first-team training and could play a part, while Matt O'Riley is also on the road to recovery after an injury nine minutes into his debut.
"We have to see – he [Joao Pedro] is coming back after a long injury – if he will be an option, but he is back in training," he told a pre-match press conference.
"Matt O’Riley is back in training. We have to see when he will be ready for potential playing in the squad."
Hurzeler also expressed excitement about his first experience of managing at Anfield, although stopped short of fawning over the thought of it.
"It is not on my bucket list to manage there but it will be a great experience, for sure. I am really looking forward to the atmosphere there," he said.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Liverpool - Mohamed Salah
Salah has been Liverpool's most effective player in the final third this season with 11 goal contributions (six goals, five assists). He is their top scorer and tied fifth among the league's top goalscorers.
He has scored nine Premier League goals against Brighton in total, including three in his last two meetings.
Brighton - Danny Welbeck
Like Salah, Welbeck has also scored six league goals so far this season and is his team's top scorer.
The 33-year-old has scored three goals in his last three league appearances and four in his last five. Notably, he also scored against Liverpool at Anfield in their previous league meeting last March.
MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run to six league games (W4 D1) as they meet Brighton on Saturday, having drawn 2-2 away to Arsenal last weekend.
They are currently second in the Premier League on 22 points after nine matches, one point behind leaders Manchester City.
They have won seven of their nine Premier League games under Arne Slot so far (D1 L1). Victory here would see him pick up the most victories by a Liverpool manager in their first 10 top-flight games in charge of the club.
Liverpool have an impressive home record so far this season (W3 L1), while they also have the best-performing defence in the league with just five goals conceded.
Brighton were beaten 3-2 by Liverpool in midweek, albeit with both sides having much-rotated XIs in the EFL Cup fourth round, and will have their work cut out on Saturday.
They travel to Anfield with two away victories out of four in the league (D1 L1), although the games they failed to win came against Arsenal and Chelsea.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Liverpool - 64.1%
Draw - 18.6%
Brighton - 17.2%
