Liverpool vs Brighton Prediction: Klopp to break De Zerbi curse

It's been a long two weeks for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, who have been left to stew over a bitterly disappointing FA Cup exit to Europa League hopefuls Manchester United. The Reds return to league action this Sunday though, as they host Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield (KO, 14:00) in a match which will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event.

Below is our Liverpool vs Brighton prediction as the Seagulls go in search of back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since September.

Team News

Liverpool are still missing several key stars including goalkeeper Alisson Becker, vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold and the prolific Diogo Jota, while there are question marks over Andy Robertson and Darwin Nunez.

Robertson hobbled off in the first half of Scotland's 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland on Tuesday while Nunez was not named in the Uruguay squad due to a hamstring issue.

Ibrahima Konate played the full 90 minutes in France's 3-2 win over Chile earlier this week and looks set to return to club action after three games out injured, while Curtis Jones could make a comeback of his own after eight games on the sidelines.

Brighton have had even worse luck with injuries this season but no game since March 14 has given some of their stars a chance to recover.

Top scorer Joao Pedro is one such beneficiary of the lack of action, with the Brazilian in line to return after eight matches out with a thigh complaint.

Liverpool legend James Milner missed a reunion with his old teammates in October but could return from another injury which has ruled him out since January 30.

However, Kaoru Mitoma, Jack Hinshelwood and Solly March are long-term absentees.

Match Odds

Liverpool are 4/11 - or a 73.3% chance - to win a 12th Premier League game of the season at Anfield, while Brighton are 6/1 - or a 14.3% chance - to become the first team to beat the Reds at home since Real Madrid in February 2023.

The draw can be found at 9/2 and over 3.5 goals is backable at 10/11.

Liverpool to win and both teams to score @ 11/8

It will be of little surprise to most that Brighton are beaten only by Luton Town in the BTTS table. In 28 Premier League games featuring Brighton this season, both teams have scored on 21 occasions.

Considering their position in the league, Liverpool also feature pretty high up in the BTTS table, with 19 of their 28 matches seeing both teams score.

There are usually goals in meetings between these two, with all four since Roberto De Zerbi took charge of the Seagulls seeing at least three scored, and both teams finding the net in three of them.

Klopp is yet to get the better of the Italian tactician since his arrival in Sussex, but only one of their head-to-heads have come on Merseyside, a 3-3 draw in October 2022.

There could be a few scares for the Reds on Sunday, but the power of Anfield should see them through against a side that has lost five of their last six away games in all competitions.

Alexis Mac Allister to score anytime @ 3/1

The Argentine is relishing playing in a more advanced role recently, having mainly been deployed as the deepest midfielder in the first half of the season.

With Wataru Endo now shielding the defence, Mac Allister is free to roam in the final third, and such freedom has allowed him to score four goals in his last seven starts. Two of those have been from open play, including one last time out at Old Trafford, while he has also been on penalty duty in the absence of Mohamed Salah, who is set to start on Sunday.

It remains to be seen whether Salah is still number one penalty taker for the Reds, with the Egyptian barely featuring in the Premier League since he missed a spot-kick and subsequently scored one later in the same game against Newcastle United on New Year's Day.

Salah has now missed six penalties for Liverpool since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, and his last effort from 12 yards - in a friendly for his nation against Tanzania on January 7 - was also unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Mac Allister's record is pretty spotless thus far. The 25-year-old has only missed one in his career - for Brighton against Wolves in April 2022 - and scored the other 12, nine of which have come in the Premier League.

Brighton have conceded five penalties in the league this term - only four clubs have been penalised more times - and have done so twice in their last five against Liverpool, including the reverse fixture at the Amex Stadium in October, when Salah was the beneficiary.

Liverpool - alongside Arsenal and Chelsea - have received the most penalties this season (eight) and will be targeting players like Seagulls captain Lewis Dunk, whose tough campaign got even worse during the internationals as he made mistakes for England against Brazil and Belgium.

Whether it's from the spot or open play, Mac Allister is certainly marking himself as a danger to the opposition's goal, as also evidenced in the early hours of Wednesday, when he headed home from close range against Costa Rica in a 3-1 win for Argentina.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.