Liverpool Vs Brighton: The Reds Overshadowed By Salah Drama, The Seagulls Ready To Steal Points At Anfield

Dominik Szoboszlai (right) and Alexis MacAlister, Liverpool's two hopes at Anfield. (photo: x @lfc)

JAKARTA - Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion are preparing to revive the tension of the Premier League during clashes at Anfield on Saturday night, December 13, a match that feels like a mystery box filled with a heated subplot, performance ups and downs, and internal dramas that have not subsided. All the highlights are back at Mohamed Salah, an icon whose future suddenly feels like a stratified puzzle.

In the midst of speculation whether the star has played his final game for Liverpool, the relationship between Salah and coach Arne Slot is said to be close to freezing. The debate boomed: is Salah worth a backup in the last three league games, including a 3-3 draw against Leeds United?

Statistics this season did not help his position. The average shot, accuracy, and touch in the penalty area have been at their lowest point since he joined. In the defensive aspect, being at the bottom of the 45 Premier League wingers about hard work came down to help survive.

Slot chose not to include Salah in the squad when Liverpool won 1-0 against Inter Milan in the Champions League. The decision made the story around his future even hotter, while the Reds' performance in the league even more concerning. Two wins from the last ten Premier League games made the reigning champions stuck in 10th position, 10 points behind Arsenal, even though they were only three points away from the top four zone.

Their defensive record was leaked on all sides. Liverpool have conceded 24 goals in 15 league games their worst start to the season for champions since Leicester 2016-17. Throughout the calendar year 2025, they conceded 48 goals in the league. For Anfield, who used to be angker, now feels more friendly to the visitors: no win in the last three games at home and seven goals lodged during that period.

The only consolation for Slot is the home record against Brighton. Liverpool have only lost once to eight Premier League meetings at Anfield. But that one defeat occurred when they also had the status of defending champions, in February 2021.

Brighton came with both shaky capital. After falling 4-3 from Aston Villa, they failed to take advantage of Chelsea's draw and only played 1-1 against West Ham in Amex. Four shots on target only appeared after the 89th minute "indication that their creativity was like a battery with only two percent remaining. Coach Fabian Hurzeler admitted his team appeared without energy.

But Brighton remains competitive. They sit in eighth position, on point with Liverpool. Their away record is neat, two clean sheets in a row, and they have humiliated Liverpool this season, winning 3-2 at Amex in May. Even so, December remains a bad month for Seagulls, without a win in the last eight games of the month.

The injury problem still looms over Brighton: Stefanos Tzimas, Solly March, Adam Webster, and James Milner are out. Mythoma is also not ready to return, while Yasin Ayari and Tom Watson are still in doubt. If Ayari passes the fitness test, he will fight for a place with Diego Gomez and Jack Hinshelwood. On the front lines, Georginio Rutter is expected to remain a starter behind Danny Welbeck.

Liverpool are also limping. Riding Gakpo is absent, Giovanni Leoni is injured by ACL, and Conor Bradley is suspended. Jeremie Frimpong, Federico Chiesa, and Wataru Endo are in doubt. Florian Wirtz's return has the potential to shift Hugo Ekitike or Alexander Isak from the front lines. Dominik Szoboszlai, the penalty hero against Inter, looks set to remain on the right if Salah does not return to the squad.

Predictions for matches are increasingly unpredictable. In the last four league meetings, the team that scored the first goal failed to win. With Anfield's fading aura and Brighton being good at stealing away points, this match has the potential to become an open duel with changing intensity.

This match will feel like a mirror for both teams: Liverpool are trying to get out of the internal shadow, Brighton is trying to revive its creativity. From there, the Premier League story at the end of the year is ready to roll into the next chapter.

Prediction of the line-up

Liverpool: Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Jones, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai, Isak, Wirtz.Brighton: Verbruggen; Wieffer, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, De Cuyper; Welbeck.

Estimated score: Liverpool 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion.