By: Fasika Zelealem
Liverpool Odds Against Brighton & Hove Albion for July 8th
After Liverpool’s 4-0 defeat at City, spirits were somewhat deflated despite having already captured the Premier League. You never want to lose to your rival, especially in embarrassing fashion as Liverpool did.
However, they bounced back as champions do, with a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa that secured Liverpool their 24th home win in a row. The game looked like it was heading to a stalemate until a Naby Keita pass found Sadio Mane who struck home from inside the box to open the scoring in the 71st minute.
After two key saves from Alisson, Liverpool was lucky to still be ahead and doubled their lead through Curtis Jones’ first-ever Premier League goal to seal all three points for the home side.
Liverpool remains on course to defeat Manchester City’s record tally (100) for a Premier League season and will need five wins out of their last six games to do it.
No offense to Brighton & Hove Albion, but they are the easiest fixture on Liverpool’s remaining schedule, and anything less than a win would truly be unacceptable, again, no offense.
Liverpool takes on a Brighton side in a weird bubble. You would bet on them to stay safe from relegation, but you wouldn’t bet a whole lot. They sit nine points ahead of the relegation zone and while that may seem like a lot, you never know what can happen in the English Premier League.
Can Brighton & Hove Spoil Liverpool’s Party?
Brighton’s ability to get draws this season has essentially saved them from a return to the Sky Bet Championship. They have 12 draws this season, the joint-third most in the league, and draws to the likes of Leicester City, Wolves and Chelsea has proven to be valuable points in their fight to stave off relegation.
As they host the champions on Wednesday evening, their head to head record is particularly damning when it comes to Liverpool. Their last win against Liverpool in all competitions came back in 1984 in the FA Cup.
They’ve played 10 times since, with Liverpool winning nine and drawing once, including an active eight-game win streak. Liverpool won the reverse fixture 2-1 back in November, despite having goalkeeper Alisson sent off.
Sportsbooks odds on Liverpool winning their 30th league game this season opens at -182. Odds on a Brighton home win opens at +500. Odds on a first draw in nine meetings between the two clubs opens at +320.
Who Will be Sold in Liverpool’s Summer Clear-out?
Liverpool’s squad depth has gotten better over the last few years, there’s no doubt about it. However, compared to other great sides across Europe, there is no comparison.
There is too much of a drop-off when substitutes replace the starters in the line-up, and this could result in a clear-out of the squad in the summer.
The likes of Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri, Dejan Lovren, and Adam Lallana could be casualties this summer as Liverpool look to beef up their squad depth as they enter the most important years for several of their key players’ career.
When you have a squad and culture that Liverpool possess now, it’ll be criminal not to do everything in your power to make sure they keep winning as long as they can.
