There is an exciting Saturday Premier League fixture between defending champions Liverpool and Brighton. The reigning title winners have been struggling so far this season, currently sitting tenth in the table. Meanwhile, Brighton have had a solid start, sitting eighth in the Premier League table.
Liverpool are -145 favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook for this one, with a draw available at +320. Brighton are +350 to pull off the upset at Anfield and take all three points. This is my prediction and pick for the Premier League tie between Liverpool and Brighton.
Liverpool vs. Brighton Prediction
Liverpool Preview
It has been a rocky season for Liverpool so far. After winning the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first season with the club and splashing cash in the transfer market over the summer, the Reds entered the season with sky-high expectations. However, a combination of injuries, lack of form from top players, questionable tactics and a slow adjustment for some new signings has led to Liverpool sitting in the middle of the Premier League table with the new year approaching. To make matters worse, there has been a falling out between Slot and club legend Mo Salah. This has been played out in public and has divided the fanbase and media over who is in the right. That being said, Liverpool picked up an excellent away win against Inter Milan in the Champions League in their first game since the Salah incident. The Reds will hope to carry that momentum back to Merseyside.
Brighton Preview
It has been a strong start to the season for Brighton. The Seagulls sit eighth in the table, only three points off the top four. Brighton have been great at home this season, including wins over Manchester City and Newcastle, and a draw against Tottenham. However, away from home, they have not been as strong, especially against top clubs. They have lost away in the league against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, as well as an away loss to Arsenal in the League Cup. Brighton have had bad injury luck this season, but Kaoru Mitoma, James Milner, Solly March and Tommy Watson all returned to training this week. It’s unclear if any of them will be fit enough to play in this match, but even an appearance off the bench from the likes of Mitoma would be a huge boost for Brighton.
Liverpool vs. Brighton Pick
My best bet for this match is for Brighton to cover the spread of +0.5 goals. Brighton has a great chance to head to Anfield and get a positive result. That is something that seemed like a bizarre sentence in recent seasons, where Anfield has been a fortress for Liverpool. However, teams are no longer afraid of taking on this Liverpool side with how they have been performing this season. Liverpool’s last three matches at Anfield have been losses to Nottingham Forest and PSV, and a draw against Sunderland. Overall, they have only won one of their past five games in the Premier League.
The Liverpool performance against Inter Milan was promising. However, there was a similar situation just over a month ago, where Liverpool defeated Real Madrid in the Champions League, making people think that things had been fixed. However, Liverpool followed that match up by losing 3-0 to Manchester City and Nottingham Forest by a combined 6-0 in its following two matches. Until the Reds can string together a few positive results consecutively, it’s hard to lay the juice with them as favorites.
