News coming out of Brighton is that talented Belgian forward Leandro Trossard may have played his last game for the club after the manager insists on dropping him for disciplinary issues, make of that what you will as things heat up in the transfer window.

Brighton can be said to be in a good place despite being usurped by Fulham on Thursday following the Lilywhites’ strong win over struggling Chelsea at Craven Cottage; great win in the FA Cup to advance to the fourth round and a win over Liverpool will confirm their status as a contender for European places.

Liverpool needs to start picking results and consistently too. Ideally, Liverpool should be clear favorite to win this but if you remember how the first leg panned out, the now maligned Trossard scored a hattrick in a 3-3 draw, the neutrals won’t mind a repeat of such entertainment but Liverpool wouldn’t want such.

It’s important to remind everyone that Liverpool lost on the road last time out against Brentford; a 3-1 loss to the Bees was followed up by a hell of a struggle in the FA Cup but the Kops can beat Brighton and restore some pride.

What does Roberto De Zerbi have to lose? Not much and that means he can relax and allow the lads to enjoy the game while Liverpool embodies all the pressure. The Seagulls will be a hell of nuisance on home soil against Jurgen Klopp’s side and it’s left to be seen how the Kops react.

Brighton has Kaoru Mitoma to unleash on the Kops as well as a resurgent Solly March. Danny Welbeck is not ready but Evan Ferguson will be fired up to impress after his recent good run including a goal in each of his last two league games against Arsenal and Southampton.

Liverpool will be happy to see how Cody Gakpo performs in the league after a decent run in the FA Cup against Wolves, the Dutchman came to England on the back of a great reputation and he will hope to hit the ground running in the league.

Mohammed Salah hasn’t been the same this season but he needs to stand up and be counted at this point; title talks are effectively over for the Kops but top four is still possible if they can go on a strong run and that starts from here.

Verdict: Both teams to score