Arne Slot in new nightmare as Fabian Hurzeler confirms ‘Messi-like’ star available vs Liverpool
Fabian Hurzeler could get the better of Arne Slot again as Brighton travel to Anfield to face a struggling Liverpool side.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored the winner against Inter Milan in midweek to hand the Reds their first win in three games, having drawn with Leeds United and Sunderland in the Premier League.
Slot is under increasing pressure at Anfield, with his team slipping to 10th in the Premier League table, and their opponents on Saturday, 13 December, are currently two spots above them.
While Hurzeler appears to have turned his fortunes around on the coast, despite early calls for his departure, Brighton drew 1-1 with West Ham to continue their frustrating form.
Kaoru Mitoma could return from injury to haunt Liverpool
The Seagulls’ injury list has been growing all season, which is unlikely to have helped their recent results, but the manager was happy to give positive news before taking on the Reds at Anfield this weekend.
Speaking in his press conference (12 December), Hurzeler said: “No, everyone is available. We have Kaoru [Mitoma] back, James Milner back, and we have Tommy Watson back, so this is positive news.
While he gave nothing away over the winger’s number of minutes, it seems likely that Mitoma will be involved for the first time since September, and that will keep Slot awake at night ahead of the game.
Slot is currently winning the managerial head-to-head 2-1 against Hurzeler, but the Brighton boss got the better of his counterpart in the most recent meeting, as the Seagulls won 3-2 last season.
Fabian Hurzeler’s ‘Messi-like’ star loves to play against the Reds
Unsurprisingly, Mitoma played a huge role from the bench, coming on in the 65th minute and getting on the scoresheet just four minutes later, and generally causing chaos at the Amex Stadium.
Mitoma, once described as “Messi-like” by Jamie Carragher [SportsKeeda], is no stranger to playing against the Reds, and to make matters more interesting, Liverpool have never won when he has scored or assisted.
The pressure on Slot cannot be underestimated, even after beating Inter Milan in the Champions League, and the thought of coming up against the Japanese international is likely to give him nightmares.
Anfield’s atmosphere will certainly play a factor, but with problems continuing on Merseyside, supporters could be left frustrated against the flying Seagulls.