By Steven Northover

Liverpool return to Anfield on the back of a statement win against Inter Milan, but also a Leeds United 3-3 devoid of confidence, and that's not even mentioning Mo Salah’s rant. 

In short, Brighton arrive on Merseyside and can expect either the sublime or the ridiculous. 

The form guide says it will be a close game, with neither team lighting it up in recent weeks, sharing a win a piece in the last five league games. However Liverpool’s far from perfect victory against Inter, as well as home advantage, will definitely give the Reds an edge. 

Team News

On the injury front, Liverpool should be as near to full strength as possible, with only Cody Gakpo, Wataru Endo and Giovanni Leoni likely to miss the game through injury.  Jeremie Frimpong, who hasn't played since October, returned to training last week, and may play some part in precedings this weekend. Meanwhile, Federico Chiesa has returned from the illness that kept him out of the tie in San Siro on Tuesday. 

Credit: BBC

There is more good news coming out of Liverpool late on Friday afternoon, with Mohammed Salah reintroduced to the Liverpool squad. 

Having missed the Inter game due to an interview he had given to the media after the Red's 3-3 draw against Leeds, where he stated he felt he had ‘been thrown under the bus’, it looked likely that the Egyptian had played his last game for the club - although at the time, Arne Slot had stated he was ‘open’ to the idea of reintroducing the Winger at any time - especially as Salah is set to leave for the Afcon on the 15th. 

Brighton should welcome back winger Kaoru Mitoma, who has been out with an ankle injury since the beginning of December, along with midfielder Yasin Abbas Ayari. 

There will be a later fitness test for former Liverpool midfielder James Miller, with long term absentee Adam Webster unlikely to play this season. 

Predicted XI

Expect Liverpool to line up with a similar formation as they did against Inter, with Connor Bradley and Florian Wirtz in line for a start. Even with Salah back in the squad, I expect Slot to stick with the same formation that performed so well against Inter, are last for the first hour.

Brighton usually play a 4-2-3-1, giving them attacking fluidity as well as width. Their main threat will likely come from their wingers, especially with the return of Mitoma on the left.

Liverpool; Alisson, Robertson, Konate, Van Dijk, Bradley, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Ekitike, Isak

Brighton;  Verbruggen, Wieffer, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Quomah Baleba, Gomez, Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma, Welbeck.