Liverpool v Brighton Match Preview WSL

Photo credit: Liverpool FC

In Women's Super League, Liverpool will take on Brighton at St Helens Stadium on Friday 17th of January at 19:00 pm UTC time. With Brighton three places above Liverpool in the table, will Liverpool be able to win at home against the odds? Here is all you need to know ahead of Sunday's match.

Recent Performances:

Liverpool have struggled to keep a good run of form this season with the last 5 league matches being 4 losses and 1 win against Aston Villa. Liverpool have no unbeaten streak this season showing an inconsistent pattern of form. Liverpool lost the Merseyside derby against rivals Everton mid-November in the Super League, which would likely be a loss of morale; after this match, they have not achieved a win in the Super League. They lost by a large margin against Manchester United (4-0) but kept Arsenal, 3rd in the Super League, at bay, losing 1-0 at home by a set piece goal. Liverpool will need to find more attacking but also defensive as well as they have the most clearances in the league.

Brighton, on the other hand, with 17 points on the league table compared to Liverpool's 9, have had a better start in the first half of the season. In their last 5 games, they have won against Leicester City and West Ham but only by fine margins; by 1 goal and drew to Tottenham. They have lost however 2 other games against title contenders Chelsea and Arsenal by larger margins. They demonstrate some threat to middle-of-the-table teams like Liverpool, showing quality but also a lack of defense, conceding to top of the table teams. Both teams show a defensive vulnerability but Brighton have an evident offensive advantage. 

Players to look out for:

Taylor Hinds is a player Brighton should be on the look for. As a defender but also midfielder, she has a similar style of play to Gorry; with two yellow cards this season, she threatens Brighton’s chance to score through efficient tackles and high defensive contribution. As demonstrated by her two goals against Aston Villa, her high pace helped her gain advantage over her opponents; she finds spaces, which catches defenders off guard to create goals out of deflections and rebounds; these shots usually are one touch and high paced, leaving the defender little chance to react. She will be a great threat to Brighton’s defensive team.

Sophie Roman Haug, who has the most assists for Liverpool, has been out with a foot and ankle injury since October is likely to return for this match. “Sophie will be back in training the week after and hopefully should be back for Brighton," Liverpool manager Matt Beard quoted in early January 2025. After their match against West Ham got cancelled due to a frozen pitch, this may have given Sophie more time to train and perfect her passes, creating impact after coming back from injury. 

Recently, Liverpool signed Scottish international, Sam Kerr, on loan from Bayern Munich and Julia Bartel from Chelsea, for season long loans. We may expect to see them start their first game for the club.

Brighton’ top scorer this season has been Kiko Seike, with 5 goals and an assist in 9 league matches. For her first season with the club, this is incredible stats and shows her consistent offensive skills. This is very evident as she became the first Women's Super League player in history to achieve a hat-trick on her debut against Everton in a 4-0 win; she won player of the month in September 2024. Seike has great quality, which is consistently improving. Seike is an allround player; she has versatile skills when in front of the goal from long ranged goals, open play goals and wide angled goals. She also takes balls off defenders in the final third. Kiko is a great finisher and had great success all round the pitch from having many touches in the opponent's boxes, high cross accuracy and dribble success, making her a key threat in Brighton's squad. It's in no doubt she will make an appearance in Brighton's squad.

Fran Kirby is Brighton's most consistent and rated player this season (according to FotMob). She is tied with Nikita Parris with the most assists this season, showing both to be a midfield threat in Brighton's squad. It is often said that Kirby and Seike will be a deadly duo for Brighton. Kirby has one of the top successes this season in touches in the opponent's box and possession won in the final third. She has high cross and pass accuracy, helping contribute to her assist this season, which is technically her best skill. Seike and Kirby will be dangerous in front of Liverpool's goal.

The Statistical Predictions:

Statistical Predictions from the bookies show this will be an equal game in terms of who wills score first; in previous meetings, Liverpool have won 4 games and Brighton has won 2 while only 1 has ended in a draw. Liverpool's form this season may be a detriment to these statistics.

The predicted line-ups for this match:

Liverpool XI: Laws, Fisk, Bonner, Matthews, Hinds, Kerr, Bartel, Shaw, Nagano, Enderby, Roman Haug.

Brighton XI: Baggaley, Pattinson, Bergsvand, Olislagers, Seike, Parris, Kirby, Mclauchlan, Martinez, Cankovic, Gomez.

You can watch the match live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Showcase.