Liverpool vs. Brighton: TV channel in UK, kick-off time, live stream, referee, injury and team news

Liverpool host Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday evening at Anfield. The Reds are looking to win their first FA Cup title since 2022. Last season, they went out of the competition at this stage, losing 1-0 to Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round.

Liverpool come into the game having beaten Sunderland 1-0 on Wednesday evening, when Arne Slot’s side became the first team to win in the Premier League at the Stadium of Light this season.

Brighton, meanwhile, are in a serious slump. They haven’t won any of the five games they’ve played since beating Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford in the last round of the FA Cup. So, they are in serious need for a turnaround in form.

Here’s everything you need to know about the match:

How to watch

The match will be broadcast on Saturday on TNT Sports 1 in the UK, ESPN in the U.S., SonyLIV in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.

Key Details

Kick-off time: Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. GMT (3:00 p.m. ET; 1:30 a.m. IST, Monday and 7 a.m. AEDT, Sunday)
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
Referee: Stuart Attwell
VAR: N/A

Team news

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, MacAllister, Salah, Chiesa, Jones, Gakpo.

Brighton XI: Steele, Dunk, Van Hecke, Hinshelwood, Baleba, Kostoulas, Kadioglu, Gomez, Gross, Veltman, Howell.

Talking Points

The curse of the Liverpool right-back

Liverpool’s two recognised senior right-backs in their squad — Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley — have been missing for a few weeks now. Bradley is out for the season. Dominik Szoboszlai was suspended for their trip to Sunderland on Wednesday evening, which meant Wataru Endo had to fill in. Endo too is out for a considerable period of time now, having picked up an ankle injury.

Szoboszlai will be back for this weekend’s FA Cup clash. Joe Gomez was solid in his substitute appearance at the Stadium of Light too, but his history means that Slot will know an injury is never too far away for him. Young Calvin Ramsay has been part of most Liverpool matchday squads in recent times, but Slot has been reluctant to use him, even for a few minutes.

Who’s next at right-back then? When is the next disruption coming in that position? Slot and Liverpool just can’t catch a break.

Opportunity for Brighton to reverse woeful recent form

Brighton have won two of their last 14 games in all competitions. One of them was in the FA Cup third round, when they beat Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford, thanks to goals from Brajan Gruda and Danny Welbeck. Fabian Hurzeler is under pressure, with both results and performances consistently being poor for almost three months now.

In the last week, Brighton lost two games 1-0, to Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, and in neither game could they make the argument that they deserved more.

A cup competition providing disruption might be a blessing in disguise for Brighton. It’s cliched to say form goes out of the window in such ties, but that is what Brighton will be hoping for. A positive result at Anfield might just be the tonic they need for a boost, as they hope to play themselves back into form, ahead of the business end of the Premier League season.

Can Liverpool afford to go full-strength?

Liverpool are still fighting on three fronts. They’re not really in the hunt for the Premier League trophy, but face a proper dogfight in their bid to finish in the top four in the Premier League. They will begin their UEFA Champions League knockout commitments next month too. With how stretched their squad is looking in certain critical areas, will Slot take the risk with his regulars for this game?

There are certain obvious changes to make, such as potential starts for Curtis Jones, Giorgi Mamardashvili, and perhaps even Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa. Liverpool haven’t really changed their team in midfield and attack for the last few weeks. Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch have certainly felt the effects of that schedule at different points over this run of games in the last few weeks.

Slot’s selection was heavily criticised when Liverpool lost in the Carabao Cup fourth round to Crystal Palace, in a game where a bulk of the first-team regulars were given the whole night off, and weren’t even on the bench. So, that could play on his mind too.

It’s clear that Salah hasn’t been at his best this season. He’s made basic mistakes in possession, is struggling to dribble past full-backs, and his finishing touch has deserted him, too. However, despite that, Salah is making tangible contributions for Liverpool. Since his return to Liverpool from his Africa Cup of Nations commitments with Egypt, he’s scored one and assisted a further three in six games. That is still an acceptable level of output.

However, Liverpool need more than just acceptable from their talisman, given the position they’re in at the moment. He played well against Sunderland, especially in the second half, even as he missed a presentable opportunity to score, or two. Perhaps what Salah needs is a game where he can get himself a goal or two, and then he can perhaps rely on the confidence that brings to build himself through to the business end of the season.

Brighton have happy FA Cup memories against Liverpool

In 2023, when Liverpool were going through a fairly similar run of form as they are right now, they faced Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round too. On that day, Harvey Elliott gave Liverpool the lead, but that didn’t last long. Lewis Dunk equalised fairly quickly after Elliott’s goal, and then in second half stoppage time, Kaoru Mitoma scored a sensational goal to send Jurgen Klopp’s then FA Cup holders out of the competition.

That season was different from Brighton’s perspective, as they were in the middle of their best Premier League season ever under Roberto de Zerbi. Circumstances this time are quite different, but that day at the Amex is one that Brighton can take inspiration from.