Paul Merson believes that Liverpool could be in for a ‘difficult game’ when they host Brighton at Anfield on Saturday in the teams’ second head-to-head in just four days.
The Reds won 3-2 at the Amex Stadium in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night and also prevailed by a one-goal margin in their most recent Premier League meeting last Easter, which was their first win over the Seagulls in more than two years.
The Sky Sports pundit believes that it could be another closely-fought contest on Merseyside tomorrow, but he’s expecting Arne Slot’s side to make it three victories in a row against the south coast club.
Merson predicting another Liverpool win
In his weekly Premier League predictions column for Sportskeeda, Merson wrote: “Liverpool are going along nicely now. They had a brilliant result in the cup against Brighton and I think they win again this weekend. Last week against Arsenal, I thought they produced a top performance to come from behind and get a draw.
“I look at Brighton and they are one of them teams – if they are hot, they’re really hot but if not, they struggle. This is a difficult game for Liverpool but I still expect them to show the quality and get the three points.”
The pundit has gone for the Reds to win 3-1.
A tough test, but Liverpool should prevail
Brighton have often proven tricky opponents for Liverpool in recent years – in fact, we haven’t done a league double over the Seagulls since the title-winning 2019/20 campaign; and before the top-flight clash at Anfield last season, we’d beaten them just once in eight attempts.
Slot was keen to play down the midweek fixture as any barometer for how Saturday’s match will go, justifiably pointing out that both starting line-ups are expected to be substantially changed from the Carabao Cup meeting on Wednesday.
Nullifying the threat of Danny Welbeck could be crucial to the Reds claiming victory this weekend. The ex-Manchester United striker is already on six Premier League goals for the season and has scored in each of his last three top-flight games, so the 33-year-old certainly poses a significant threat.
Depending on how Arsenal fare against Newcastle in the lunchtime kick-off, there could be an incentive for Liverpool to pull further clear of the Gunners in the table should Mikel Arteta’s side drop points in the northeast.
Slot’s side don’t tend to win big, but they certainly tend to win, with 12 victories out off 14 in all competitions this term. If they can play to the standards we know they’re capable of reaching, that sequence should become 13 from 15 by 5pm tomorrow, although we agree with Merson that Brighton could provide a stern test.
