Brighton vs Liverpool LIVE: Team news and line ups confirmed, Premier League latest

BRIGHTON vs LIVERPOOL

Brighton XI: Ryan, Lamptey, Webster, Dunk, Burn, Propper, Mac Allister, Stephens, Gross, Trossard, Maupay

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Williams, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Keita, Salah, Firmino

It’s over baby

OK, the three 6pm fixtures are done and dusted. So I’ll tell you what the heck happened.

Manchester City thumped Newcastle 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium. Burnley held onto their one-goal half-time advantage to beat West Ham 1-0.

And… Sheffield United beat Wolves thanks to a 94th-minute winner from John Egan.

Knock knock…

Who’s there? Not Anthony Knockaert because he’s joined Fulham on a permanent basis.

Come on, what do you want from me? I’ve covered every game since the beginning of time.

Anyway, the French winger joined Fulham on a loan last July and now they’ve exercised a clause in the deal to sign him permanently.

Albion head coach Graham Potter said, “The move has worked out well for Anthony, and I would like to wish him well for the remainder of the season and for the future.

“There’s no doubting his contribution to this club, as part of the promotion-winning team in 2017, and those first two seasons in the Premier League. On behalf of everyone at the club I would like to thank him for his achievements.”

Did you hear the one about…

Thiago Alcantara… well the latest rumours and gossip suggest he’s on his way to Anfield already.

Tuttomercatoweb (an Italian website) claim Liverpool have reached a general agreement with the player.

At the minute the two clubs are quite a long way apart on their valuation of the player but a lot could happen with the summer transfer window likely to be extended until October.

What do you think, good signing? Bad signing? It’s a load of nonsense? Let me know through the usual channels.

Transfer talk

Literally. Jurgen Klopp has been speaking about possible transfers in the upcoming window.

It’s… well it’s not good news and it’s not really bad news. ‘Meh’ to the highest degree.

“Are there players out there on the market who could help us as well? Probably, yes,” Klopp said. This is the challenge for us, to improve a really good football team.

“But the time is a challenge as well. Nobody knows what the future will hold for us, for all of us, so how can we make really expensive decisions about how we will deal with it?

“This team is how it is but that doesn’t mean we will not strengthen, we don’t want to strengthen. If we have to and we have the opportunity and we have the financial resources then it will always happen and we will always try.

“But at the moment it’s really, really a difficult time and this team makes pressure on each other by themselves internally. Training quality is really important and high.

“This is a difficult year for all football clubs in the world and I don’t think it’s a time where we talk about transfers like the rest around us did not happen. It’s just not possible, at least not for us. We cannot do it like this, other clubs maybe can, but this club is operating in a specific way.”

Twitter reaction

Matt: Interesting that Neco Williams starts at left-back tonight. If he proves capable there it would solve an issue for Liverpool next season. A full back who can deputise both sides would be absolutely ideal.

Si: It’s not a popular opinion but continuity can be a good thing. And Liverpool have plenty of young players with a high ceiling only at the start of that journey. Williams, Jones, Elliott and Brewster can all become stars under Klopp and Lijnders. The £50m+ players we covet.

Luke: Good to see Williams getting a deserved Premier League start. Ox in the front 3 it seems, he never plays well there for me. Hopefully he can start changing that tonight and looking forward to next season! Come on Reds!

Is that not a popular opinion, Si?

Team news – Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp makes FOUR changes from the side who beat relegation-threatened Aston Villa at Anfield.

Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino return to the starting XI having been rested/rotated last week. They replace Sadio Mane, Fabinho and Divock Origi.

There’s also a start for teenager Neco Williams. The 19-year-old has quite the growing reputation and is rewarded with a spot ahead of Andrew Robertson.

I believe he’s naturally a right-back, but displacing a lad named Trent Alexander-Arnold has proved a little bit tricky.

Team news – Brighton

Graham Potter makes three changes from the nervy, edgy and slightly boring win over Norwich.

Alexis Mac Allister, Dale Stephens and Pascal Gross start in place of Yves Bissouma, Aaron Mooy and Aaron Connolly, who all drop to the bench.

Starting XI

The team news arrives at exactly 7.01pm. I see Neco Williams has been included in the starting XI. Fully deserved, I like this kid.

Brighton XI: Ryan, Lamptey, Webster, Dunk, Burn, Propper, Mac Allister, Stephens, Gross, Trossard, Maupay.

Subs: Button, Duffy, Bissouma, Jahanbakhsh, Murray, Mooy, Montoya, Bernardo, Connolly.

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Williams, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Keita, Salah, Firmino.

Subs: Adrian, Fabinho, Milner, Mane, Minamino, Robertson, Origi, Jones, Elliott.

The latest

There are three 6pm fixtures happening right now. There’s another dead rubber going on between Manchester City and Newcastle, who are playing for what feels like the 500th time this season.

Pep Guardiola’s side lead the Toon 2-0 thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez.

It’s goalless between Sheffield United and Wolves… and that’s about all I have to say about that game.

West Ham trail high-flying Burnley thanks to a Jay Rodriguez goal. If the Clarets cling on then they’ll move into ninth – just a point behind seventh-placed Arsenal. The Hammers, meanwhile, will stay four points above the relegation zone having played a game more than their rivals.

Consider yourselves updated.

Evening…

Welcome to our LIVE coverage of Brighton vs Liverpool from the Amex Stadium.

What’s that? A dead rubber you say? An anti-climax? You’re not going to bother watching?!

Well I can assure you that… OK, who am I kidding. There’s nothing much on the line this evening as the confirmed champions take on a side fairly certain to remain in the top-flight.

So consider this a hype-free zone and let’s just enjoy some football.

Team news and line ups coming shortly. Standby.