Kicking off a double-header of head-to-heads, Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool clash in the fourth round of the EFL Cup at the Amex on Wednesday evening, a few days before also crossing paths in the Premier League.
The Reds got the defence of their crown off to a flying start with a 5-1 crushing of West Ham United in round three, while Fabian Hurzeler's team edged a five-goal thriller with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Match preview
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En route to winning their final trophy of the Jurgen Klopp era, Liverpool taught West Ham a footballing lesson in a 5-1 quarter-final drubbing in the EFL Cup, and Arne Slot's men remarkably repeated that trick a little over nine months later this time around.
The historical omens therefore favour a side that has not lost a single EFL Cup fixture since December 2022, and that emphatic success was the third of eight successive victories for the reigning champions across all competitions, as Slot rips up the history books.
However, Liverpool's 100% away record under the Dutchman came to an end on Sunday evening, although their gripping 2-2 Premier League draw with Arsenal - where they came back from a goal down twice to steal a share of the spoils - should have had the feeling of one point gained rather than two dropped.
Failure to conquer the Gunners does mean that the Reds have lost their grip on first place in the top-flight standings to Manchester City, although there is only a one-point gap separating Slot's men from the Citizens, and Premier League matters take a backseat for now as Liverpool hope to snap a peculiar sequence.
Indeed, the visitors have followed a pattern of a fourth-round exit before winning the EFL Cup in each of the last four seasons - losing at this stage in 2020-21 and 2022-23 either side of taking home the trophy in 2021-22 and 2023-24 - but upcoming hosts Brighton played out a less desirable four-goal draw at the weekend.
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While the Liverpool faithful no doubt departed the Emirates as the cheerier crew, Brighton supporters were left dumbfounded and Wolves fans delirious as Hurzeler's team succumbed to one of the many injury-time goals in Premier League gameweek nine.
Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson's low finishes would ostensibly be enough for the Seagulls to soar to success against the Premier League's basement battlers, only for Rayan Ait-Nouri to cut the deficit in half and Matheus Cunha's last-gasp strike to rescue the unlikeliest of points for Gary O'Neil's outfit.
That pulsating stalemate saw Wolves somewhat avenge their narrow defeat to Brighton in the third round of the EFL Cup, as Hurzeler masterminded a 3-2 victory on September 18 to book the Seagulls' spot in the last 16 for the fourth time in five seasons.
However, Brighton have an EFL Cup monkey to get off their back this week, as they have been beaten in each of their last five fourth-round games in the tournament - including three in a row from 2020-21 to 2022-23 - and have not been past this point since reaching the 1978-79 quarter-finals.
The hosts' applaudable Amex record against Liverpool may stand them in good stead, though, as they have avoided defeat in each of their last three home matches versus the Reds - including a 2-1 FA Cup victory in January 2023 - although the Merseyside giants triumphed 2-1 at Anfield in March 2024 during their most recent battle.
Team News
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It should be largely as you were in terms of Liverpool's injury situation, as Harvey Elliott (foot), Alisson Becker (hamstring) and Diogo Jota (abdominal) are set to remain absent, while Federico Chiesa (fitness) and Conor Bradley (unspecified) are both doubtful.
The latter two certainly would have been candidates to start this one, although Slot can still deploy Joe Gomez at right-back in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold if he feels that the Real Madrid target is in need of a break.
Wataru Endo and Jarell Quansah should also be able to look forward to rare starts in the visitors' XI, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo's fresh legs up front could now come in handy too; the former lost out to Curtis Jones for the most advanced midfield spot against Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Brighton fans could surely not believe their luck when Welbeck was passed fit to start against Wolves, just one week after he was given oxygen and stretchered off with a back injury in the win over Newcastle United.
Welbeck's availability could be crucial for Wednesday's game, as Leeds United loanee Georginio Rutter is cup-tied and Joao Pedro is still out with an ankle concern, joining Solly March (knee), Matt O'Riley (ankle), Adam Webster (thigh) and ex-Liverpool man James Milner (thigh) in the medical room.
Yankuba Minteh and Jack Hinshelwood both have good chances of being available despite missing the Wolves draw, although captain Lewis Dunk - who hurt his calf in the warm-up - is more uncertain.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Steele; Lamptey, Van Hecke, Igor, Estupinan; Adingra, Baleba, Wieffer, Mitoma; Enciso, Ferguson
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Quansah, Tsimikas; Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Nunez
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-2 Liverpool
Slot highlighted the fact that Arsenal had an extra day to recover from their Champions League exploits before Sunday's draw, and the same will be true on Wednesday against a Brighton side who seldom have problems finding the net at home.
However, the Reds have become away-day specialists during Slot's short time at the helm and should remain on course for back-to-back EFL Cup trophy lifts, even if any victory on Wednesday is not as emphatic as the travelling faithful might wish for.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
