Although they are four points clear at the top of the Premier League, Liverpool will lose momentum in the title race if they fail to get all three points when they face Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
The Reds have lost their last two games – the first a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City in the league followed by a dire defeat at Wolves in the FA Cup by the same scoreline.
Liverpool managed to scrape past the Seagulls when they played at Anfield in August, winning 1-0 which saw keeper Alisson make a crucial last-minute save to ensure the win and this game will be a tough proposition for them.
To make matters more difficult, Liverpool have Dejan Lovren, Jordan Henderson, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all likely to miss out through injury.
Manager Jurgen Klopp will therefore have to change things round with Virgil van Dijk the only fit out-and-out centre-back at his disposal.
So who will Klopp pick for this crucial Premier League encounter? Below you can see talkSPORT.com’s predicted Liverpool XI to face Brighton.
Although Joel Matip returned to training on Friday, this game is likely to have come too soon. Therefore, Fabinho is likely to fill in for Lovren at centre-back, a duty the Brazilian carried out reasonably well against Wolves.
Meanwhile, James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum could play in the holding midfield roles, giving Xherdan Shaqiri license to link up with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane against a team they managed to put nine goals past last season.
