Brighton v Liverpool: Line-ups, stats and preview as Reds head south without Salah

Liverpool go to Brighton tomorrow without Mohamed Salah, who will remain on Merseyside due to a “minor muscle injury”.

Egypt star Salah sustained the problem during Wednesday night’s 4-0 hammering of Galatasaray in the Champions League, a game in which he scored and missed a penalty before asking to come off with discomfort with 16 minutes to go.

Reds boss Arne Slot said: “It’s unusual [for him to ask to come off]. As a result, you can expect the outcome that he is not available for tomorrow.

“The good thing for us is that we go into an international break, but the bad thing for him is that he can’t go [away with Egypt], but we are hoping that Mo can recover.

“He’s shown in the past that he does that faster than other players. He takes such good care of his body. It’s only two weeks until we are back again, we can hope in that period of time he can be back.”

The midweek goal rush was welcome after a frustrating 1-1 draw with Tottenham and a 1-0 defeat in Istanbul in the first leg of the last 16 tie.

“We are struggling to score goals,” admitted Slot, whose side are fifth in the table. “Not that we don’t score them, but with all the chances we create, it’s unbelievable that we don’t score more, especially looking at the quality we have up front and throughout the whole team.”

Brighton’s form has picked up in recent weeks, although they were a touch fortunate to win at Sunderland last Saturday.

Boss Fabian Hurzeler wants another strong performance from his side against the defending champions.

“We all know Liverpool are still one of the best teams with incredible individual quality,” he said after watching their win over Gala. “They can always have these special nights at Anfield.

“They came into a flow and when Liverpool get into a flow they are dangerous for every team.

“It’s our responsibility to not let them get into that flow. We need to be prepared, be intense.”

Team news for Brighton v Liverpool

Brighton will go with the same group that won at the Stadium of Light, plus winger Karou Mitoma.

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez is likely to be in the squad but is not fit to start, according to Slot. Dominik Szoboszlai could revert to right-back with Jeremie Frimpong unlikely to be risked so soon after Galatasaray.

Cody Gakpo will likely replace Salah.

Predicted line-ups for Brighton v Liverpool

Brighton: Verbruggen; Wieffer, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu; Milner, Gross, Gomez, Hinshelwood, Minteh; Welbeck

Liverpool: Alisson; Szobozslai, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister; Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike

Where to watch Brighton v Liverpool: TV and online streams

Brighton versus Liverpool kicks off on Saturday at 12.30pm. Live TV coverage in the UK is on TNT Sports and the Discovery Plus app.

TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through Discovery Plus, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.

If you don’t live in the UK, click HERE, to discover which station may be showing the game in your region.

Stats for Brighton v Liverpool

• Brighton have won two of their last three home league games against Liverpool
• Liverpool have won 2-0 (Premier League) and 3-0 (FA Cup) against Brighton this season
• After a run of just one win in 13 Premier League games from the start of December, Brighton have now won three of their last four 

Prediction for Brighton v Liverpool