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2011-09-21 - Brighton vs Liverpool
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Carling Cup
Wednesday 21 September 2011 - Kickoff 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Brighton
Brighton lost their first game of the season at Leicester on Saturday, but they have a chance to really show off their new Stadium to the rest of the country as the biggest visitors to date, Liverpool, come to town on Wednesday evening for a Carling Cup 3rd Round tie.
The defeat at the King Power Stadium means Brighton have moved down to 3rd place in the Championship having compiled a 5-1-1 record this season. They have been solid at their new home where they are 2-1-0, scoring 6 goals and conceding 3, as well as beating Premier League Sunderland in the last Round of the Carling Cup in extra time.
Brighton have won 3 of their 5 home games this season while drawing the other 2 (all results at full time after 90 minutes). After being unbeaten in their previous home for most of last season, Brighton went on to lose their final 2 games once promotion had been secured.
They had not won a Carling Cup tie since the 2008/09 season before winning both this season.
It will be interesting to see what kind of team Gus Poyet plays considering they have a League game against Leeds on Friday night too.
Liverpool
Liverpool had a bad weekend when losing 4-0 at Tottenham, but things like that have to be expected when so many new faces join the club in a relatively short period of time. Kenny Dalglish will need to pick his team up for a competition he is clearly taking more seriously than some may have imagined.
The Reds moved down to 8th in the Premier League table following their defeat at Spurs and they have now compiled a 2-1-2 record in the League. Liverpool have struggled away from home where they are 1-0-2, scoring 2 goals and conceding 5.
It was the away form that really let Liverpool down last season, and they still seem to be having a hard time to get the right balance away from home this season. They were unlucky to lose at Stoke, but that does mean they have failed to score in their last 2 away from home in the League, while the 1 win at Arsenal had extenuating circumstances during the game.
Liverpool have beaten Exeter 1-3 away from home in the last Round of the Carling Cup, but there is still some work to be done to erase the awful memories from last season when they lost to Northampton on penalties at Anfield.
Dalglish played a strong team at Exeter and it is hard to think he will change his mind on that policy. I expect some changes, with some young players like John Flanagan getting a chance while Martin Skrtal and Charlie Adam are suspended. The biggest news of all for Liverpool fans is the expected return of Steven Gerrard, but whether he starts or is a substitute is up for debate.
Prediction
It is a Carling Cup tie so, again, remember to keep stakes to a minimum as there are bigger fish to fry later this week.
Liverpool look a little short in the market considering their bad form of late, but this is clearly a competition that Dalglish wants to win judging on the team he started at Exeter and I think he will play a strong team again.
I can see Brighton making life extremely difficult for Liverpool in the first half, but I imagine Liverpool's class will rise at that point, while Gus Poyet may start thinking about resting players for the game with Leeds on Friday.
The atmosphere should be amazing, and I think that will help Brighton for a little while, but I will look to Liverpool to break them down in the 2nd half and win the game.
The Pick :
Brighton 0-2 Liverpool
