Liverpool return to action on Tuesday night when they host Villarreal in the Champions League, aiming to make it three wins from three in the league phase.
After beating Atletico Madrid at Anfield and thrashing LASK in Austria, Andoni Iraola’s side will look to strengthen their position in the race for automatic qualification to the knockout stages.
Following Tuesday’s clash, Liverpool will turn their attention to the Premier League, with in-form Brighton visiting Anfield on Sunday afternoon. The Reds sit fifth in the table, six points behind Arsenal and nine adrift of Manchester City.
Brighton have received a potential injury boost ahead of the trip, with right-back Mats Wieffer hoping to return this week after recovering from a knee problem.
The 26-year-old sustained the injury during Brighton’s 4-3 defeat to Chelsea last August and has not featured since. Ferdi Kadioglu has impressed at right-back in Wieffer’s absence, while summer signing Costinha is another option for head coach Fabian Hurzeler.
However, Wieffer’s return would provide a welcome boost as Brighton juggle commitments in the Premier League, Conference League and domestic cups.
The Dutchman joined from Feyenoord and has been converted into a right-back by Hurzeler, although he can also operate in central midfield.
Brighton sit third in the Premier League following their emphatic 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace. The Seagulls face Czech side FK Jablonec in the Conference League on Thursday before travelling to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Sunday.
“I think he’s getting closer,” said Hurzeler to Sussex World. “So not for this weekend [Crystal Palace], but then afterwards there will definitely be an option where we see him taking part in the game.”
Brighton have several other injury concerns, with Evan Ferguson (ankle), Stefanos Tzimas (knee), Kaoru Mitoma (thigh), Femi Azeez (thigh), Pascal Struijk (thigh), Yankuba Minteh (leg) and Zadok Yohanna (unspecified) all unavailable. However, Minteh and deadline-day signing Azeez are both nearing a return.
Hurzeler added: “No big issue [for Azeez]. Some players need more time to adapt to the intensity, it’s a little bit similar to Zadok.
“We try to give them the environment where they can adapt to our demands, to how we want to play. Therefore these kind of players might need a little bit longer.
“But overall there’s not a big issue. So it’s just a thing of adapting and let’s see how fast he will adapt and I’m sure he will make his first minutes for us quite soon.”
Brighton’s 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace marked their biggest win over their rivals since 1956. The Seagulls also recorded their eighth clean sheet in all competitions this season and secured their fifth Premier League win of an impressive campaign.
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