Andy Hunter was at Anfield tonight. Here’s his verdict. Thanks for reading this MBM.
Fabian Hurzeler’s turn on TNT Sports. “Very disappointed … we started the game well … good on the ball … big chances in the first half … big moments decided the game … good quality from Liverpool … we tried to come back … in the end we lost a little bit of belief … the fans were great … they deserve more and therefore we are really disappointed … we had enough chance to score a goal … you can’t defend all the actions from Liverpool but we defended well … the penalty decided the game and we were not able to come back … we keep going … of course we are not in a good moment … but we are fully committed … the team stuck together … they really wanted it … it’s not easy … we have to work hard … get the confidence back in small steps … we have to get the small steps … then good moments … and then you get the confidence back, and that’s what we have to do.”
Arne Slot speaks to TNT. “The second [goal] was a fantastic goal … the margins were maybe smaller than the 3-0 looks like … at 1-0 just before half-time they got a big chance … that fell good for us, or I should say, great save from Ali … second half, two good goals … in the end it feels like a comfortable win but it was closer than the 3-0 scoreline shows … it was possible to press … many times this season it was not possible to press because of the style of play of the other team … today we have two teams who have a similar style … they want to bring the ball out from the back … two teams that want to press high … but the modern Premier League is not so much about bringing the ball out from the back … a lot about direct style and set pieces … we are still as good as last season … the playing style of our opponents has massively changed throughout the league, but particularly against us … [Mo Salah] not only had a goal but an assist … with his right foot … that is special for him! … the next step is scoring with his right [realises joke doesn’t quite land] … it is nice to him on the scoreboard again … he has also been influential in his assists … he also does a lot off the ball … that’s what he did against City, Sunderland and tonight … this team has made a proper development … the team is playing better and better because we are fitter and fitter … now you can see what this team can do … the future looks bright.”
Curtis Jones, who has been given the official player of the match award, speaks to TNT … and he’s setting some big targets for this season. “It was a good game … we scored three very good goals … a clean sheet as well … that’s all you can ask for … there’s been times I’ve scored more goals but not played as well as I’m playing now … I just want to play well … be in the team … help them as much as I can … I’m a footballer … a centre mid … but if the manager needs me and the team needs me to play at centre-half or full-back or striker, I’ll go and do it and try my best … I’ve scored and helped the team so I’m happy … the season has obviously not been as good as we’d like it to be … but that’s part of the game as well … you can’t expect to go into every game and just win … teams are obviously improving … the team is gelling … but off the pitch there’s a good bond as well … the lads have come into a team that has welcomed them in as though they’ve been there their whole life … it took time for Flo [Wirtz] to score more goals but he’s played great, great games … he’s found his feet … he’s a massive help now … it’s a matter of time before we kick on and start playing like champions again … I want to win everything … I play as a fan as well and know what the fans expect … we’re taking each game as it comes and hopefully at the end of the year we come away with the Champions League and the FA Cup.”
To a woman and man, Anfield gives Liverpool their flowers on Valentine’s Day. Deservedly so. The home side were excellent, and two of their best performers, Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai – who combined so elegantly for Liverpool’s wonderful second goal – speak to TNT.
Salah: “There was pressure for sure [on the penalty] … I’m glad we managed to win the game … a very important win for us … for confidence for upcoming games … we rely on [Szoboszlai] so much … he is one of the best players in the world right now … I wish he could carry on like this … it is good to win a trophy so hopefully we can win again …
Szoboszlai: “I just want to keep going .. score as many as I can … I’m not playing a Steven Gerrard season [the comparison having been made as they both wear No8] … I am trying to do my own story … try to do my best every game … hopefully we can go on to the end.”
Thing is, Brighton weren’t half bad, and will surely feel 3-0 to be a heavier punishment than was warranted. Had either Jack Hinshelwood or Diego Gomez taken their big chance just before the break, the story could have been different. But once Salah and Szoboszlai combined for Liverpool’s sublime second, the jig was up. Albion’s wait for a first FA Cup goes on; Liverpool can keep dreaming of their ninth.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 3-0 Brighton
It was comfortable for Liverpool in the end. But Brighton performed well too, and made the hosts work. Liverpool into the hat for the fifth round!
90 min +5: Mitoma jinks down the left. His dangerous ball through the six-yard box forces Kerkez to turn out for a corner. Boscagli then heads over the bar from close range. It just wasn’t to be for Brighton tonight.
90 min +3: Liverpool stroke it around and run down the clock. The fifth round ahoy.
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90 min +1: On TNT, Ally McCoist names Curtis Jones as his player of the match. I’d have gone with Mohamed Salah myself – a goal, that dribble, that assist - but who am I to argue with Super Ally?
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90 min: There will be four added minutes.
89 min: Another Liverpool double change, as Gakpo and Jones are switched out for Nyoni and the lesser-spotted (ie clearly untrusted by his manager) right-back Ramsay.
88 min: Rutter smacks a shot wide left from the edge of the box. Konate was down holding his head at the time. He’s back up now.
87 min: Liverpool’s defence fall asleep as one, allowing Mitoma the chance to shoot from ten yards. Straight at Alisson, then hacked out by Konate. That’s sloppy defending from the hosts, and it nearly cost them the chance of a clean sheet. Nothing comes from the resulting corner.
85 min: Mitoma busies himself down the left and wins a corner off Konate. Nothing comes of it. Liverpool have the chance to launch a counter through Jones, but the midfielder miscontrols. Had he taken that as he should have, he’d surely have released Ngumoha through on goal. Somewhere, in a parallel universe, the 17-year-old winger has just scored his second goal in under four minutes. The small margins.
83 min: Wieffer nearly closes down Alisson, but a last-ditch Cruyff Turn gets the keeper out of bother and the patrons of Anfield out of their seats.
81 min: Gakpo steams into acres of space down the middle. He lays off to Ngumoha on the left. Ngumoha sashays into the box and whip-cracks a delicious shot across Steele and into the bottom right. It’s a glorious goal, but the flag goes up for offside. That was tight. A fair chance that, had VAR been activated this evening, that would have stood. Shame for the young man.
79 min: Liverpool play a bit of keepball.
77 min: That’s Salah’s last action tonight. He’s replaced by Ekitike, while Chiesa makes way for Ngumoha. Salah, back to near his best tonight, receives the love. It is Valentine’s Day after all.
75 min: Mitoma tees up Kadioglu on the edge of the Liverpool D. His shot is deflected over the bar by Szoboszlai. But from the resulting corner, Liverpool tear upfield on the counter! Salah beats last man Kadioglu on halfway, but doesn’t have the legs to make it to the box before Mitoma, making a wonderful recovery run, closes him down.
74 min: Jones attempts to release Chiesa down the left touchline, but delays the pass and eventually Chiesa is caught offside.
73 min: Minteh, advancing down the inside right, has the chance of finding Kostoulas in the Liverpool box, but his pass along the channel is overhit. Alisson claims. That was a good opportunity for Brighton to launch the first stage of an improbable comeback.
72 min: Brighton swap out Van Hecke, on a yellow card, for Boscagli.
71 min: Liverpool replace Wirtz with Gomez, who moves into the right-back position, Jones moving back to his normal midfield beat.
70 min: Brighton may feel miffed that Salah got away with palming off Kadioglu in the rugby style. But as Ally McCoist points out on TNT, the Brighton defender really had to stand stronger.
GOAL! Liverpool 3-0 Brighton (Salah 68 pen)
Salah nearly takes the net off its moorings in whistling a perfect penalty into the top right. Steele guessed correctly, and even stuck up a brave hand. Great reaction, and yet nowhere near good enough. Salah and his mojo are back together all right!
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Penalty for Liverpool
67 min: Salah spins Kadioglu with indecent ease down the right. He enters the box, shoving Kadioglu, who had done his best to recover, out of the way. Salah dribbles around before being skittled by Gross from behind. The referee points to the spot, then books Van Hecke for complaining. Salah will take what he earned all by himself.
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65 min: Such a shame Szoboszlai, and Hungary, won’t be going to the World Cup.
63 min: Szoboszlai pays homage to the Winter Olympics by slaloming past a couple of challenges. He nearly breaks free into the box, but there’s one defender too many. Szoboszlai’s confidence is clearly sky-high right now. He’s been sensational all season.
62 min: Brighton make a triple change. Howell, Gomez and Baleba make way for Mintah, Mitoma and Rutter.
61 min: Szoboszlai’s delivery isn’t the best, but Brighton allow the ball to bounce through to Salah, who from the right-hand edge of the six-yard box, shoots through a crowded zone. Dunk blocks. Salah tries again and slices wide.
60 min: Gakpo is clipped out on the left flank. Free kick. Everyone lines up on the edge of the box waiting for Szoboszlai to deliver.
59 min: Brighton had come so close to an equaliser as well. Alisson’s intervention with Van Hecke waiting to head home hugely important.
57 min: Salah, his mojo relocated all right, now tees up Mac Allister, whose low shot is deflected wide right. Let’s not spoil the effect by mentioning the following corner, which Salah fluffs into the side netting.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Brighton (Szoboszlai 56)
… yes, it could well be unfolding again. Because Liverpool double their lead with one of the goals of the season. Gakpo spins infield from the left on the halfway line. He creams a diagonal pass towards Salah on the right. Salah spots Szoboszlai tearing down the inside-right channel on the underlap. He cushions a perfect first-time ball into his path. Szoboszlai runs onto it, and sends a first-time screamer across Steele and into the top left. What a goal!
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55 min: Brighton made chances here at Anfield back in December, but couldn’t take advantage of any of them. Is the same story unfolding tonight?
53 min: Kerkez nips in ahead of Howell, the pair tumbling over. If anything, it’s a free kick for Liverpool, Howell taking his man down from behind, but Brighton get the decision. And from the resulting free kick, hooked in long from the right, Dunk heads across the face of goal. Van Hecke dives in, and if he connects he won’t miss with his header, but Alisson sticks out an arm to deflect it away from the big defender. Liverpool eventually clear their lines after a scramble. That’s avoided some controversy, if nothing else. Brighton looking super-dangerous, though.
52 min: Brighton have started the second half as they did the first: brightly. They’re up for this all right, hogging the ball and making their hosts do plenty of chasing.
50 min: Wirtz does a bit of ball-on-string dribbling in the Brighton box, but can’t fashion enough space for a shot. Twinkly toes, mind.
49 min: Nearly a farcical equaliser for Brighton, as Gomez closes down Alisson, the ball at the keeper’s feet. Alisson takes his sweet time over clearing, and when he eventually blooters the ball, it rebounds off Gomez and wide left of the goal. Lucky Alisson.
48 min: A lot of faffing around down Liverpool’s left touchline. Loads of players there, not a blade of grass to spare. Proper playground stuff.
46 min: Gomez bangs into the back of Konate. Just a free kick, though the Brighton player, having already gone into the book, wants to watch himself here.
Liverpool get the second half underway. They’re kicking towards the Kop in this second period. No changes. Meanwhile speaking of real love, Peter Oh has the sweetest heart: “In my ideal world, Liverpool win tonight but James Milner makes an appearance, slots in a consolation goal, points to the number 20 on the back of his shirt, and does a Baby Shark celebration in honour of Diogo Jota.”
Half-time entertainment, sent with love on this special day. “This came up this morning ahead of the cricket, and I think is worth sharing again,” begins Simon McMahon, now halfway through stage four of his all-day bender. “The greatest theme of them all, with added Valentine’s Day lyrics. I sent it to Mrs McMahon, old romantic that I am. She wasn’t impressed. If you’re reading this, please come home. I’m nothing without you.”
While we’re on the subject … hey, any old excuse. I enjoyed doing the research for this so much. Even better, I think most of the links are still intact. Try to get the Granada 1969 Herb Alpert number out of your head, go on.
HALF TIME: Liverpool 1-0 Brighton
Liverpool have the lead, and they’ve played well. But so have Brighton, who had their chances. This is far from over.
45 min +1: Another big chance for Brighton in the first of two additional minutes. Dunk rolls a pass down the inside left. Gomez spins around Jones, who slips. Van Dijk comes across to force Gomez into shooting early. He pokes straight at Alisson, who nevertheless saves well.
45 min: A corner for Brighton down the right. Howell sends a brilliant ball into the mixer, right on the head of Hinshelwood, who really has to score from six yards, but powers over the bar. That was a big chance.
44 min: Kerkez, the blood pumping, goes chest to chest with Veltman, the pair tangling near the dugouts. Arne Slot plays peacemaker, stepping in between the rutting stags and prising them apart. The referee makes do with some finger wagging.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Brighton (Jones 42)
Kerkez, who has been excellent tonight and a constant menace on the left, chases a deflected ball down his flank. He crosses into the centre, where Jones opens his body and improvises a flipper-finish into the right-hand side of the net. Steele with no chance!
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41 min: Mac Allister picks up a loose ball near the centre circle and prepares to advance down the middle at speed. Baleba cynically steps across him and earns Brighton their third booking of the afternoon. When the game restarts, Szoboszlai creams a long diagonal towards Salah on the right. Salah cuts back for Chiesa, whose low drive is blocked by Van Hecke. But it’s brief respite for Brighton, because …
39 min: One corner leads to another, then Konate is penalised for shoving. A long period of pressure on Brighton is released.
38 min: Kerkez romps after a long ball down the left. When he meets it, he sends a screaming shot across Steele and towards the top right. The keeper gets a strong fingertip to the shot, tipping over. That would have been a hell of a goal. Liverpool getting close now.
37 min: That’s got the home fans rolling on a boil, and they raise the volume further when Salah strips Kadioglu down the right and enters the box, before trying to squeak a shot cheekily into the right-hand corner. Steele reads the intent and gathers.
35 min: Another cheap free kick conceded by Brighton, this time by Howell, who skittles Gakpo to the left of the box. Szoboszlai whips the free kick towards the near post, where Gakpo smacks a header home from close range. Liverpool and Anfield celebrate the goal … but the flag goes up very late. Gakpo looks confused, and Anfield fumes, but it’s the correct decision. A reminder that there’s no VAR tonight, so either way, the no-goal decision stands.
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34 min: Gomez is booked for tugging Salah’s shirt on the halfway line. No real need for that. And on the subject of bookings, here’s Mike MacKenzie: “Re the 24th minute when Gross was ‘tugged back slyly by Mac Allister’. Maybe refs give more leeway when a foul is made slyly? Good style is appreciated!”
32 min: … so having said Liverpool were keeping Brighton at arm’s length, the visitors are getting back into it, enjoying a lengthy period of possession and territorial advantage. Brighton have bumped their possession percentage back up to 55.
31 min: Dunk buys a ticket for the lottery from the best part of 30 yards. He’s aiming towards the top left. It’s always flying high and wide … but not by much. Alisson rated it enough to shuffle across and look concerned.
29 min: Salah in a bit of space down the right. He cuts back for Jones, who doesn’t appear to have too much time or space for a shot. But with little backlift, Jones pings a curler towards the top left. It’s inches away, and Steele wasn’t sure of getting there. There was a slight nick on the way through, but Liverpool don’t get the corner they deserve.
28 min: A wee break in play as both Chiesa and Konate require some treatment. And they’re fine to continue.
26 min: Liverpool have done well to keep Brighton at arm’s length since the early exchanges. Kostoulas tries to get something going by shooting from distance, but that distance is overly ambitious, and the effort is a non-event.
24 min: Gross tries to make good down the middle of the park but is tugged back slyly by Mac Allister. A free kick, but not a booking for some reason. Liverpool have got away with a couple of borderline ones. The next time they might not be so lucky.
23 min: Liverpool are pressing Brighton back, but can’t fashion a decent shooting opportunity. Gakpo tries from a tight angle on the left. Easily blocked. Chiesa attempts to race around Gomez on the right, but runs out of pitch. Goal kick. All of this has got the crowd going again, though.
21 min: Kerkez scampers after what looks like a lost cause down the left. An overhit pass by Gakpo. But he makes it, clipping a cross from the byline that’s blocked out for a corner by Van Hecke. It’s easily caught by Steele. Meanwhile with the number 20 on the scoreboard, the home fans sing their hearts out about their beloved lad from Portugal. Better than Figo, don’t you know?
19 min: … nothing much happens. “You referred to the game three years ago, which was obviously heartbreaking as a Liverpool fan, but that heartbreak was slightly tempered by the sheer beauty of Mitoma’s winner,” recalls Matt Dony. “It’s not a goal that gets talked about often, but it should be. Astonishing presence of mind and technique. Annoyingly so.”
18 min: A free kick sent into the Brighton box from the left by Szoboszlai. Van Hecke rises highest to flick out for a corner. From which …
16 min: Salah goes direct, looking for the far corner. It’s always sailing high and wide. Reports of that relocated mojo perhaps premature. Then, overplaying out from the back, Steele puts Baleba into all sorts of danger on the edge of his own box with a hospital pass. Baleba does extremely well to dig the ball out and hack clear, under intense pressure from Gakpo and Szoboszlai.
15 min: Dunk goes into the book for a cynical check on Wirtz, just to the right of the Brighton box. Salah to take the free kick, with everyone waiting in the middle.
14 min: Gomez dribbles left to right across the face of the Liverpool box, enters it, and crosses low. There’s nobody in the middle to poke home. What a run, though. A fresh, open start to this game. Both teams showing plenty of promise in attack.
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13 min: Van Dijk strokes a defence-splitter down the inside-left channel for Kerkez, who takes one touch inside the Brighton box to sit down both Howell and Van Hecke. He shoots straight at Steele; he really should have scored. But the flag goes up for offside.
11 min: Salah skates past Dunk down the right with the ease of old. Approaching the corner of the six-yard box, he takes one touch too many, caught between shooting and cutting back, and is dispossessed. For a moment there, though, that was a bright flash of the Salah of yesteryear. He was decent against Sunderland during midweek, too. Is Mo getting his mojo back?
10 min: Howell barrels down the inside-right channel and is nudged from behind by Chiesa, who got a bit of the ball but also plenty of man, and was running the risk of picking up a booking. From the resulting free kick, Kadioglu has a whack from distance, but that’s easy for Alisson.
8 min: … and that start’s had the effect of quietening Anfield a bit. Task one complete.
7 min: Brighton have enjoyed 75 percent possession in these early exchanges. The very definition of a confident start by the visitors.
6 min: Brighton stroke it around patiently. Liverpool hold their shape, equally patiently. Wirtz suddenly springs the press and the ball ends up with Jones, who tries to find Gakpo with a long right-to-left diagonal. Easy for Van Hecke to deal with.
4 min: Chiesa looks to burst down the left touchline, but is penalised for a barge on Veltman. A slightly soft free kick. Chiesa would have been away had it not been given.
3 min: Salah tries to get something going for Liverpool, launching long down the inside-right channel for Wirtz. Van Hecke heads back calmly to his keeper, just in time.
2 min: Jones is indeed playing at right-back tonight. He does very well to nick the ball off Kadioglu, who very nearly got round him down the Brighton left. Then Hinshelwood has a look down the same flank. Brighton have started well.
1 min: Whigfield lied about the air. It’s a cold night on Merseyside.
After an exuberant rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone, Brighton get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Kop in this first half.
The teams are out! A wonderful Saturday night atmosphere at Anfield. I feel the air is getting hot. Liverpool in all red, Brighton in their blue and white stripes. It’s party time in a couple of minutes. Dee-dee-da-da-dum, be my baby.
Pre-match postbag. “I woke up this morning excited but trepidatious, a strange feeling of dread, knot in my stomach, cos it was, you know, Valentine’s Day, maybe this year will be the year, Scotland v England at the T20 World Cup, followed by Dundee United at Falkirk, then the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield. The cricket went as expected, but United secured a famous come-from-behind victory at Falkirk, then Scotland gave the Auld Enemy a pumping for the ages in the rugby. As Mr Loaf once sang, two outta three ain’t bad. Quite what any of this has to do with Liverpool v Brighton I’m not sure, but hey, it’s Saturday night, right? Actually, it’s S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y .... NIGHT!!! Cheers! PS. You’re guaranteeing goals I hope” – Simon McMahon
Oh Simon, I love it when you drink your whisky.
Meanwhile Ian Copestake adds: “I am aged enough to have been sent on quite the Proustian ride by your preamble. Brighton should channel that past by donning white headbands.”
The penultimate tie of the day has just finished at Villa Park, where Newcastle have done a number on their ten-man hosts. Barry Glendenning has all the details.
Fabian Hürzeler speaks to TNT. “Every game is an opportunity to make it better than the last game … a good opportunity to get back on track … to keep focussing on our performance … enforcing our habits … stick to our principles … to go to a big stadium against a big opponent and try to have the belief to win this game … it’s important to keep focusing on the small margins … defensive stability … the belief that we can go to every stadium in the world and play our style of play … courage in possession and out of possession … we have quality … we are capable of beating everyone … confidence … key principles … our players have to trust in ourselves … it is do or die so we have to go all-in … a great opportunity to go to the next round.”
He also stresses his belief in 17-year-old Harry Howell, who only made his full Premier League debut last week against Crystal Palace, and is making his first FA Cup appearance tonight. “We all have trust and belief in him … he showed a good performance against Palace and Villa so deserves to be on the pitch … we all see a guy who is really looking forward to this game … a lot of courage and belief in his own quality … I hope he plays a good game tonight.”
Arne Slot talks to TNT Sports. “[The win at Sunderland] was very important because we have lost far too many times games we didn’t deserve to lose … far too many points behind teams we want to compete with … [we won] by a set piece, which was unusual for us … we always try to go for every trophy … that is normal if you are Liverpool … we also have to be realistic … we cannot take the risk of losing more players than we have already lost … it is a very strong team but maybe usually people would have expected Hugo [Ekitike] and Ryan [Gravenberch] … I prefer to have more midfielders than defenders or attackers because midfielders are able to play in multiple positions … [Brighton] have a strong first team and bench … no academy players on the bench … but if you look here [gesticulates towards the Liverpool teamsheet] you see a bit of a difference … [both teams] have been unlucky this season.”
He’s also pressed, by TNT pundit Steve McManaman slipping into full passive-aggressive banter mode – “You can tell us, we won’t tell anybody” - into revealing that Curtis Jones will fill in at right-back and not Dominik Szoboszlai. “I don’t think it matters much if another team knows,” he sniffs reluctantly, a little frost at the edges of a very low-intensity smile.
Liverpool make four changes to their starting line-up after their 1-0 win at Sunderland. Dominik Szoboszlai returns from suspension, while Curtis Jones, Milos Kerkez and Federico Chiesa all step up. Hugo Ekitike, Ryan Gravenberch and Andrew Robertson drop to the bench, while Wataru Endo is injured.
Brighton make three changes to their starting XI following their 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa. Jason Steele replaces Bart Verbruggen in goal, while Charalampos Kostoulas and 17-year-old Harry Howell come in for Kaoru Mitoma and Danny Welbeck, surprisingly dropped to the bench.
The teams
Liverpool: Alisson, Szoboszlai, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez, Jones, Mac Allister, Salah, Wirtz, Chiesa, Gakpo.
Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Ekitike, Robertson, Gravenberch, Nyoni, Ramsay, Morrison, Ngumoha.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Steele, Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Gross, Baleba, Hinshelwood, Gomez, Kostoulas, Howell.
Subs: Verbruggen, Rutter, Minteh, Welbeck, Milner, Boscagli, Mitoma, Wieffer, De Cuyper.
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
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Preamble
Liverpool go into this match off the back of an impressive midweek win at Sunderland that eased the pressure building on Arne Slot. Brighton by contrast are reeling from the concession of a late, late winner at Aston Villa. Meanwhile the Reds have won four of their last five matches against the Seagulls. So.
But! Brighton created plenty of chances in their 2-0 defeat at Anfield a couple of months ago. And they’ve got form against Liverpool in the cup, having knocked Jürgen Klopp’s side out three years ago, and famously seeing off the otherwise all-conquering team of the Paisley-Fagan era in back-to-back seasons. So despite being on an underwhelming run right now – no win for Fabian Hürzeler’s men since the third-round victory at Manchester United, six matches ago – they’ll not be without hope. Could be a doozy. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. Extra time and pens if necessary. It’s on!
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