What you can expect from the Brighton match tomorrow

Craig Noone - Brighton's Scouse Dangerman

I fully expect Liverpool to put an assured, professional performance against Brighton tomorrow night. The Reds will want to react to the 4-0 defeat to Spurs on Sunday and it is good that we have a match so quickly after such a demoralising display at White Hart Lane.

I can say with 100% certainty that the Seagulls will be no pushovers. Under Gus Poyet, Brighton play an expansive, attacking style of football, and they play on the big pitch at their new Amex stadium to stretch opponents’ defences. In addition, despite their attacking style, they are not soft at the back and until they had conceded against Leicester on Saturday, they had gone 270 minutes without conceding with Gordon Greer and teenager Lewis Dunk partnered at centre half.

I don’t know whether former Spanish international Vicente will feature as he hasn’t appeared for Brighton so far, but their biggest threat in midfield is left winger Craig Noone; a Scouser to boot, he has been on fire for the Seagulls so far this term.

It will mean that if John Flanagan does start the match as expected, he will have to be at the top of his game. Noone is a tricky player who loves cutting inside to cross, and Flanno will need to show Kenny Dalglish why he should have started against Tottenham at the weekend.

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Up front, Brighton have record signing Craig Mackail-Smith, and Ashley Barnes who has scored 5 goals already this season. Both players have a fair bit of pace, meaning Carragher and Sebastian Coates will need to be particularly watchful. Mackail-Smith especially is a hand full, and is very similar to Dirk Kuyt in regards to work rate, pressing high up the pitch and chasing lost causes.

The biggest area where the Reds could capitalise against Brighton is down their left hand side. First choice left back Marcos Painter was sent off against Leicester at the weekend, meaning that Assistant Manager Mauricio Taricco will most likely start. Although a decent player in his day, Taricco is now 38 and hasn’t played regularly for the last two to three years. Getting Craig Bellamy to play wide right would be the best thing the Reds could do and with support from Flanagan, they could make it a torrid night for the Argentine.

Central midfield is where the battle is always won though, and this is where the Reds look to have a big advantage. With Steven Gerrard probably returning, and perhaps Jay Spearing coming in alongside Lucas in place of the suspended Charlie Adam, they should outnumber Brighton and outclass the likes of Gary Dicker and Liam Bridcutt.

This cup tie will definitely be a tight affair and coming up against a confident Championship side can sometimes be more difficult than facing a struggling Premier League team. With Brighton’s attacking style though, the Reds should be able to pick them off on the counter attack, especially if Bellamy is up against Taricco.

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