Kick-off at Anfield is just under an hour away and the lineups for today's match versus Brighton are in. Today's match is the Reds' first of any kind since the 2-1 win against Ajax on September 13th at home in the Champions League. It's their first match in the Premier League since the Merseyside derby draw on September 3rd at Goodison Park.
Liverpool's previous 2 matches in the league were postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The side should be well-rested and have had loads of time to work on things in practice. There were questions about how Jürgen Klopp would use his players who were called up for international duty over the last 2 weeks. Now we know the answers.
Klopp has left some of the most high-profile players who had international duty on the bench to start the game. Luis Díaz, Diogo Jota, and Darwin Núñez were all left out of training by the gaffer at points this week since coming back into the side. Therefore, it is no surprise that they start this game on the bench. We would expect to see the 3 of them sometime this afternoon as substitutes, however.
Here are the lineups for Liverpool and Brighton:
Liverpool
Starters
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago, Carvalho, Salah, Firmino
Substitutes
Adrian, Gomez, Milner, Elliot, Jota, Díaz, Núñez, Arthur, Phillips
Brighton
Starters
Sanchez, Webster, Dunk, March, Mac Allister, Trossard, Gross, Welbeck, Caicedo, Estupinan, Veltman
Substitutes
Steele, Lamptey, Colwill, Lallana, Sarmiento, Enciso, Undav, Mitoma, Gilmour
LFC Globe Verdict
Klopp has put out a familiar lineup, relying on old soldiers like Henderson, Salah, Firmino, and Van Dijk to lead the line. It is a pragmatic lineup that will surely make room for substitutions from the supremely talented men he has on the bench today.
I think they will have their hands full with a Brighton side that will be keen to show their new manager something. Although I think the Reds will prevail. I like both Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez to both score in the second half. I have Liverpool winning this one by a margin of 2-1.
