An early injury, a clean sheet loss and only the 3%-owned Milos Kerkez (£5.6m) getting an attacking return.
It was a dire day if you backed Liverpool players in the early kick-off, as Brighton and Hove Albion continued their fine form with a 2-1 win at the Amex.
Here are our Scout Notes from the game.
EKITIKE INJURY
Hugo Ekitike (£9.3m) was the early-game casualty, going down in the opening exchanges, attempting to continue, and then finally coming off after eight minutes.
The good news: it was a dead leg. Fantasy Premier League (FPL) haven’t even added an injury flag, with Arne Slot confirming the relative insignificance of the problem.
“Hugo, I think he could play tomorrow if he needed to. It was a dead leg, as you call it here I think. Brighton did what we expected. If you face a team that has only had 62 hours of rest and the first thing you do is make it an intense game, play the first duels, play tough duels – nothing wrong with the duels, by the way – but unfortunately it was a collision and that led to Hugo going out. Yeah, that’s not helpful after two minutes.” – Arne Slot on Hugo Ekitike
ALISSON OUT, £4.1M MAMARDASHVILI DEPUTISES
Mohamed Salah (£14.0m) was also missing from the Liverpool side, of course, thanks to a hamstring injury.
Something that Slot hadn’t mentioned in Friday’s press conference was a(nother) fitness problem affecting Alisson (£5.4m). Shortly before Friday’s FPL deadline, and just in time for a flag to be added, it was revealed that the Brazilian goalkeeper was going to miss Saturday’s clash with the Seagulls.
Slot didn’t give us much else after full-time, save for confirming that he won’t be joining up with Brazil.
“Alisson will definitely be out during the international break and let’s see afterwards.” – Arne Slot
Alisson himself, however, seems to be suggesting that this is no minor issue:
Alisson Becker on Instagram: He will be out for a while. pic.twitter.com/E4HbXGgmPM
— Anfield Sector (@AnfieldSector) March 21, 2026
Giorgi Mamardashvili (£4.1m) is very much on the FPL radar now, then, while we await further news on Alisson.
The Georgian had a mixed afternoon, featuring some sloppy distribution (including in the seconds before the opening goal), but he did make some solid second-half stops to keep the score down.
AVOID LIVERPOOL IN GAMEWEEK 32?
Slot did warn us that Wednesday’s superb performance was “impossible to copy”.
So it was, with Liverpool lacking the intensity and attacking swagger of midweek.
It was always going to be a big ask, in fairness. A 63-hour turnaround posed physical questions, especially when a) nine of the 10 outfield starters kept their places and b) Brighton were coming into this game fresh.
Being deprived of your Champions League front two – Salah and Ekitike – was another mitigating circumstance. Once the Frenchman went off, it was Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) and Florian Wirtz (£8.3m) up top.
“You have to continue without one of the best strikers that the league has seen in the last three or four years, already not available throughout the whole season, Alexander Isak. One of the best goalscorers the league has seen in the last eight years not being available, with Mo Salah. And then missing out on Hugo Ekitike, who has had a lot of impact this season, him being out.” – Arne Slot
While there were extenuating factors, is it going to be the same again in Gameweek 32?
The visit of Fulham is the filling in a PSG sandwich (see the image from BBC Sport below), and you’ll imagine there’ll be some tinkering against the Cottagers. Even for those who keep their place, will the minds and bodies be willing?
At least you can count on 90-minute men Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) and Virgil van Dijk (£6.3m). Those two salvaged something from Saturday’s wreckage with DefCon points:
Above: The players banking DefCon in Liverpool v Brighton
LIVERPOOL’S AWAY STRUGGLES V TOP TEAMS
One final word on Liverpool.
This was their sixth away game against a side currently in the top half – and they haven’t won any of them:
The Reds’ remaining three away matches of the season? You guessed it, all against sides now sitting in the top 10.
DUNK BAN
Lewis Dunk (£4.5m) is the first player to reach 10 Premier League bookings in 2025/26.
The veteran centre-half hit the unwanted threshold on Saturday, meaning he’ll be suspended for the next two Brighton matches. If Albion get a Double Gameweek 33, he’ll miss the first game of it.
Olivier Boscagli (£4.2m) looks set to fill in for the long-serving centre-back.
IN PRAISE OF BRIGHTON’S DEFENCE
Brighton may not have kept a clean sheet but this was another solid defensive performance from the Seagulls.
In 11 of the last 12 Gameweeks, they’ve conceded zero or one goals.
No surprise, then, that they’ve got the joint-best defensive record in that time:
Above: Clubs sorted by fewest goals conceded (GC) in the last 12 Gameweeks
Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) made a handful of smart low stops on Saturday but none of them were real gilt-edged opportunities, and all were saves you’d expect him to make. In fact, Liverpool’s one ‘big chance’ (as defined by Opta) was gifted to them by a back-header from Dunk, which Kerkez finished well.
Albion could have a Double Gameweek 33, plus some decent fixtures against Burnley, Wolves and Leeds to come, so Verbruggen et al might be piquing some FPL managers’ interest over the break – especially Gameweek 32 Wildcarders.
GET HIM ON THE PLANE!
Danny Welbeck (£6.1m) reacted to his England snub in the best possible way, notching a brace.
That took him up to 12 goals for the campaign, a tally that only three forwards can better:
Both were from close range and indebted to smart tee-ups from Diego Gomez (£4.9m) and Jack Hinshelwood (£5.1m), two impressive performers in recent weeks. Hinshelwood is playing as Brighton’s most advanced central midfielder at present, featuring on the Goals Imminent table this week.
Ironically, if you’re interested in Welbeck, you probably don’t want Brighton to get a Double Gameweek – he hasn’t started more than one match a week all season.
Also catching the eye, albeit without reward, was Yankuba Minteh (£5.5m). Restored to the starting XI in Gameweek 30, he was a menace on the wing.
He nearly bagged assists for Gomez (headed off-target) and Welbeck (deprived a tap-in by a Mamardashvili claw), while it was his excellent cross that Hinshelwood, who could have shot, tapped back to Welbeck.
And Minteh had a great chance of his own, denied by the sprawling Liverpool ‘keeper from close range.
“I think it’s a prime example of when a young player understands what it needs to play for his team, when a young player understands that the standards are high in every training session and that he has to wait for his opportunity. He wasn’t playing, he was on the bench, he was frustrated, he had some some personal issues, but one thing what he did, he never gave up. He always was there for the team. He pushed hard in every training session.
“I think today he gets the rewards for all his hard work in the last weeks for all the effort he’s doing. So, I’m very happy for him and now he has to keep doing these things, keep pushing and try to improve every day.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Yankuba Minteh
