Liverpool are under the fiercest pressure this season, from which only exemplary professionals can emerge. By spending half a billion euros to bolster the squad during the last off-season, the Merseyside club's leadership set Arne Slot the aim of establishing himself as a dominant force in English football and of challenging for the European crown. However such huge cash injections did the coaching staff a disservice. At some point, inflated expectations about Liverpool's results and the raw on-field chemistry between the new signings and those who had previously played for the squad turned into a brutal crisis. During it, the Reds repeatedly lost, including in long streaks, not shying away from a three-goal defeat at Anfield, which had always been a fortress for its hosts. Now Liverpool are playing much better, but echoes of what happened in autumn 2025 are turning into sporadic lapses for the side. Brighton in recent seasons has earned a reputation as a menace to the title favorites and as a contender for European places. Since the start of December last year, Fabian Hurzeler's charges have seemed like a different side. In the Seagulls camp there is no sign of a coaching change yet, but Brighton is increasingly losing, showing the main weakness in organizing attacking play. Bookmakers have installed the hosts as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.54 on their victory. Liverpool clinched a very important league win midweek. A disappointing home defeat to Manchester City just three days earlier required character from the Liverpool players. That was enough to secure an away win over the fairly dangerous and unpredictable Sunderland. The FA Cup could become the Reds' only trophy on the national stage this year. Earlier, Slot's team had been eliminated from the EFL Cup, and their current position in the Premier League leaves them hoping only for a Champions League place. Brighton, in the previous round of the national cup, fired Ruben Amorim from Manchester United's head coach position. After that match the Seagulls produced a five-match winless run. In such a state, the visitors are unlikely to repeat cup success.