Two teams with identical points totals but completely different moods will face each other at Anfield Road when Liverpool host Brighton on Saturday in the 16th matchday of the Premier League. Arne Slot’s team is only in 10th place with 23 points, level on points with Brighton in eighth, but with a worse goal difference, in a tight group where Everton in 7th and Tottenham in 11th are separated by only two points.
In sporting terms, Liverpool are lagging behind their own expectations in the league, with just one win from their last five Premier League games underlining their stalled title defense. At the same time, they are unbeaten in four games in all competitions, most recently with Dominik Szoboszlai scoring late from the penalty spot against Inter to secure the away win. Off the pitch, the conflict between Mohamed Salah and Slot, as well as Salah’s imminent departure for international duty, are further weighing on the atmosphere and creating uncertainty in the line-up.
Brighton, on the other hand, are in a more stable league position, with only one defeat in their last five games and Georginio Rutter’s late equalizer against West Ham suggesting a certain degree of stability, although Fabian Hürzeler also has problems to juggle. Mitoma’s ongoing ankle problems and young striker Stefanos Tzimas’ season-ending knee injury significantly reduce the offensive options, and the last meeting with Liverpool, a 3-2 home win in May, showed how open and high-scoring this duel can be.
- Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
- Date and time: December 13, 2025, 4:00 p.m.
- Competition: Premier League (Matchday 16)
Slots’ team has looked more solid since their win at Inter, with Dominik Szoboszlai thriving in Salah’s role. Brighton will be without Mitoma and Tzimas, and Baleba is carrying an injury, which will noticeably weaken their attack. Combined with the vulnerable defenses of both teams and Liverpool’s late offensive surges, there is a lot to suggest that there will be over 2.5 goals and that the second half will produce over 1.5 goals.
Liverpool Form & Record Check
Liverpool travel to this game in Brighton in generally poor Premier League form. The team is in tenth place with 23 points and an even goal difference, level with Sunderland above them and only one point ahead of Tottenham behind them. This congestion in the middle of the table sums up the situation quite well: too solid to panic, but clearly below what the fans at Anfield Road expect.
In their last five games in all competitions, Liverpool have recorded two wins, two draws, and one defeat. The 4-1 home collapse against PSV in the Champions League exposed their fragile defense and showed how quickly they lose control when they have to chase a deficit. The response afterward was solid, with a quiet 2-0 win at West Ham, a tough 1-1 draw at home against Sunderland, and a chaotic 3-3 draw at Leeds.
This run culminated in a late 1-0 away win at Inter. Liverpool dominated possession but created few chances, then escaped thanks to a penalty from Szoboszlai after Wirtz was pulled back. Slot deployed a diamond in midfield, with Isak and Ekitiké up front, and Jones emphasized afterward that this performance showed the team was behind the coach. Opta now rates their chances of finishing in the top eight of the Champions League at 61%, while their championship odds are considered only moderate.
Patterns within these games stand out. Each of the last five encounters was level at halftime, with under 1.5 goals scored in 80% of the first halves, while 80% of the second halves exceeded that mark and Liverpool scored in all five games. Slot’s team appears to be more cautious at the start and then opens up as the game progresses, which fits their new vertical style but also makes them vulnerable. The attacking form is encouraging, without being entirely convincing. Liverpool have scored in each of these games, carried by Isak, Ekitiké, Wirtz, and Szoboszlai, who has taken Salah’s place on the right. The stalemate with Salah and the noise surrounding Alisson’s future coincide with the injuries to Endo and Gakpo, and there is still no clear pressing solution against increasingly direct opponents in the league.
Liverpool are expected to stick with the compact formation that worked in Milan, so our prediction remains 4-3-1-2: Alisson in goal, a back four of Frimpong, Konaté, van Dijk, and Robertson, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, and Jones in midfield, Wirtz as an attacking playmaker behind a strike duo of Isak and Ekitiké.
In terms of absences, Endo’s thigh problems and Bajcetic’s long-term recovery take away the natural defensive six options, which is why Mac Allister is expected to play deepest in this prediction. Gakpo’s muscle injury takes away a versatile offensive alternative, while the ineligibility of Leoni and Rhys Williams for the Champions League limits the cover behind van Dijk and Konaté.
Salah is formally available, but given his recent conflict with Slot and his omission from the win at Inter, he could once again be left out of the starting lineup. That would secure Szoboszlai a central role on the right and allow Wirtz to operate centrally behind Isak and Ekitiké, as predicted in this lineup.
Brighton Form & Record Check
Brighton travels to Anfield in solid form. Two wins, two draws, and one loss from their last five Premier League games keep them in eighth place in the table with 23 points and a positive goal difference. They are only one point behind Everton, level on points with Sunderland, and with the table so tight, a single result could move them up or down several places.
In terms of performance, the 1-1 draw with West Ham felt more like a rescue mission. Rutter ended his goal drought with a late equalizer in stoppage time after Bowen punished a sloppy mistake. Before that, the 4-3 home defeat to Aston Villa had exposed familiar defensive sloppiness, even though Brighton created enough chances to win the game.
The 2-1 win against Brentford and the 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest looked much more controlled, with De Cuyper and Tzimas contributing important goals before the young striker’s season was cut short by a knee injury. Only the goalless draw at Crystal Palace completely lacked offensive power. Recent performances show a recurring pattern overall, with a rather cautious first half followed by a sharper Brighton after the break, which usually finds a way to score.
Perhaps the injuries are now having a greater impact. Mitoma has missed nine league games in a row, and Fabian Hürzeler is juggling Minteh, De Cuyper, and Kadioglu on that flank, sometimes at the expense of the flow of the game. Baleba’s dip in form, frequent changes, and constant transfer rumors have disrupted the balance in midfield, even though he continues to be seen from the outside as a potential elite defensive midfielder. Overall, Brighton’s current record looks more respectable than spectacular, but given the sale of former top scorer Pedro to Chelsea and the long-term injuries to Webster, March, and now Tzimas, in a team that is well ahead in the injury statistics, remaining in the top half of the table is more of an overachievement. However, defensive volatility, especially in games such as the defeat to Villa, prevents this run from looking truly convincing.
Brighton are expected to stick with their familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, although this is more of a prediction than a confirmed starting lineup. Verbruggen should continue in goal, with Kadioglu, van Hecke, Dunk, and De Cuyper in front of him. Baleba and Wieffer are expected to play as a double six in the center, with Rutter operating between the lines to support Welbeck, while Minteh and Gomez occupy the wide attacking roles and rotate as needed.
Significant absences characterize this predicted starting eleven. Webster and March are out with serious knee injuries, Tzimas is now out for the season after tearing his cruciate ligament, and Mitoma could also be missing after his recent setback. That would leave Welbeck as the main striker in this prediction, while De Cuyper is likely to tend to play high up on the left again, and Baleba is expected to provide robustness and resistance to pressing in front of the defense.
Liverpool vs. Brighton Head-to-Head & Statistics
In the last five head-to-head matches, Liverpool leads the series with three wins, Brighton has one win, and there has been one draw. Both Anfield games in 2024 ended 2-1 to Liverpool, while the away games on the south coast resulted in a 3-2 win in the 2024 League Cup, a 2-2 league draw in 2023, and a 3-2 league defeat in May 2025.
Goals are a constant theme. A total of twenty goals were scored in these five games, eleven for Liverpool and nine for Brighton, averaging four per game. Both teams scored in every game, and each ended with more than 2.5 goals in total, a series of five high-scoring encounters that no defense has been able to completely control so far.
There is also a clear pattern in how lively the first halves are. Brighton scored before the break in four of the five games, and Liverpool conceded just as often during this phase. Nevertheless, none of these games were completely balanced after the break, with the balance usually shifting significantly in favor of one side in the second half.
From Liverpool’s perspective, the cup game is also particularly important, as their 3-2 win in the 2024 League Cup round of 16 came away from home and ended Brighton’s participation in the competition. At the same time, Brighton’s win in May 2025 and the draw in 2023 show that they can turn these open games into difficult tasks. Overall, the recent head-to-head record suggests another open rather than cautious duel. Liverpool have narrowly won the results and hold an 11-9 goal advantage in these games, but Brighton have scored in every game and are coming off a recent league win. Small defensive adjustments could decide the next chapter.
