Brighton v Liverpool: Premier League – live!

“Hello Rob,” says Martin S. “Do we really think Spurs can mount a decent challenge this year? As that’s the fixture LFC fans will surely look closest at tomorrow. Or will Lampard have a shot? OR will it be a Mourinho flop?”

I think Liverpool will win by 10-15 points, but Spurs are capable of finishing above the rest and I certainly think they’ll finish in the top four. I hope they mount a challenge, though. There are few things I would enjoy more than Jose Mourinho winning the Premier League and turning his acceptance speech into a relentless eight-hour score-settler.

“As Larkin said, the dropping of Mane ‘brings the priest and the doctor, in their long coats, running across the fields’,” says Ian Copestake. “He was last left out for the Aston Villa debacle.”

If only they’d picked him; it might have been 7-4.

Adam Lallana is only fit enough to be on the bench against his old club. Aaron Connolly replaces him, and Joel Veltman is in for the suspended Tariq Lamptey.

Liverpool have made six changes from the team that lost at home to Atalanta. Joel Matip is rested, which means a start for Nat Phillips alongside Fabinho, and Takumi Minamino starts in what looks like a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Brighton (3-4-2-1) Ryan; White, Dunk, Webster; Veltman, Bissouma, Gross, March; Connolly, Welbeck; Maupay.
Substitutes: Steele, Burn, Lallana, Alzate, Molumby, Trossard, Jahanbakhsh.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Alisson; N Williams, Phillips, Fabinho, Robertson; Milner, Wijnaldum; Minamino, Firmino, Jota; Salah.
Substitutes: Adrian, Tsimikas, R Williams, Henderson, Jones, Mane, Origi.

Referee Stuart Attwell.

Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Brighton v Liverpool at the Amex Stadium. Liverpool will go top of the Premier League if they avoid defeat. It might only be for 24 hours; it might be for the rest of the season. Although they have had a slightly odd start to this very odd season, there have been enough signs that Liverpool are still the best team in England by a fair distance.

Most of those signs have been at Anfield. Liverpool have won only one of their four away games in the league, though there were mitigating circumstances for the draws at Everton and Manchester City. It could be worse: Brighton have won only one league game at home all year. And they haven’t even drawn a game against Liverpool since 1991. Brighton are a decent, very likeable side but I’m not sure I fancy their chances today. If they do win, tomorrow’s front pages will be theirs.

Kick off 12.30pm.