Revenge in Mind as Liverpool Visit Brighton for FA Cup Fourth Round Date

When Brighton defeated Liverpool 3-0 in the Premier League two weeks ago, Reds’ gaffer, Jurgen Klopp described his side’s loss as one of his worst performances since his arrival at Anfield. The German has however been presented with an opportunity to make amends as he visits the Amex Stadium for a fourth round FA Cup encounter against the Seagulls tomorrow 

Seeking a second scalp over their Merseyside counterparts in the space of two weeks, Brighton & Hove Albion host holders, Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the Amex Stadium tomorrow.

The Seagulls powered past Middlesbrough 5-1 to progress to round four, while Jurgen Klopp’s team edged Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 in a replay following a 2-2 draw at Anfield.

Scoring goals at an incredible rate has been the theme of Roberto De Zerbi’s managerial career thus far, and his Brighton side were in a merciless mood during their trip to the Riverside Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup, as Alexis Mac Allister’s brace alongside strikes from Deniz Undav, Adam Lallana and Pascal Gross put Boro to the sword.

Finding the back of the net more than once at the King Power would have surely been a prerequisite against a troubled Leicester City side, but the Seagulls’ momentum was derailed somewhat at the home of the Foxes in the Premier League, as it took a late Evan Ferguson header to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw.

However, Brighton remain in a healthy sixth place in the Premier League table courtesy of the sides around them dropping points last weekend too, but the FA Cup represents another shot at European qualification for the soaring Seagulls.

Brighton were dumped out in the fourth round of the competition by Tottenham Hotspur last season, but they have managed to reach the fifth round in three of the last five editions of the FA Cup, including a run to the semi-finals in 2018-19 before Manchester City sent them packing.

Now unbeaten in four matches across all competitions, Brighton can boast at least two goals from each of their last six games – making the net ripple 19 times at an average of over three goals per game in that run – although two wins from their last six at the Amex is hardly an intimidating record.

The most recent of those South Coast successes was the 3-0 thumping of Liverpool on January 14, though, and both the Reds and Chelsea could have done with lessons in attacking from De Zerbi during their low-key goalless stalemate at Anfield last weekend.

In what was Jurgen Klopp’s 1,000th game as a manager, the Liverpool boss admitted that he was grateful his landmark game did not turn out the same way as Arsene Wenger’s 6-0 thumping at the hands of Chelsea, who had an early Kai Havertz goal ruled out and could not find the breakthrough despite an eye-catching cameo from Mykhaylo Mudryk.

There was not much to write home about in Liverpool’s FA Cup third-round replay with Wolves, except for the long-range Harvey Elliott screamer that send the defending champions into round four, and back-to-back clean sheets will certainly be welcomed by the Anfield faithful ahead of a trip to free-scoring Brighton.

However, in each of Liverpool’s last three FA Cup runs as defending champions, they have failed to progress beyond the fourth round each time, and they have also been dumped out in this round in the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2020-21 editions.

Winning just five games away from home in all competitions this season will not do wonders for the Reds’ confidence either, and while they thumped Brighton 6-1 in the 2011-12 FA Cup, most will expect the Seagulls to be racking up the goals in this fixture now.

Meanwhile, 12-time FA Cup winners Manchester United welcome Championship outfit Reading to Old Trafford for a fourth-round tie tonight.

The Red Devils secured a 3-1 victory over Everton in the third round to set up a contest with the Royals, who beat fellow second-tier side Watford 2-0 on home soil.

Man United have moved one step closer to winning their first trophy since 2017 after securing a 3-0 away victory against Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night.

January loan signing Wout Weghorst scored his first goal for the club either side of strikes from Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes to give the Red Devils a commanding three-goal advantage heading into the second leg at home next week.

Focus now shifts to the FA Cup for Erik ten Hag’s side, who enter today’s contest in fine form on home soil after winning each of their last 10 games at Old Trafford across all competitions, scoring 26 goals and conceding only four in the process.

Man United, who sit fourth in the Premier League table, are also unbeaten in their last 14 home matches in the FA Cup, including two third-round victories against Reading in the last six years – winning 4-0 in 2017 and 2-0 in 2019.

The Red Devils have in fact progressed from nine of their 10 FA Cup ties against the Royals, but they cannot take their Championship opponents lightly after being eliminated on penalties by second-tier side Middlesbrough in the fourth round last season.

Since beating Watford in the FA Cup third round three weeks ago, Reading have failed to win their last two Championship games and have conceded six goals in the process, with a 2-2 draw at home to Queens Park Rangers followed by a 4-0 thumping by Stoke City last weekend.

The Royals, who have spent the last 10 years in the second tier, have subsequently slipped to 14th in the table and five points behind the playoff positions, while there are no immediate fears of relegation as they sit 11 points clear of the bottom three.

Paul Ince will return to familiar territory today when he takes his Reading side to former club Man United, where he spent six years as a player and won 10 trophies, including two FA Cups in 1990 and 1994.

Reading have never lifted the FA Cup in their 151-year history and have failed to progress beyond the fourth round in five of the last six years, including an embarrassing third-round exit to non-league side Kidderminster Harriers last season.

Hopes of causing an upset against Man United appear to be slim for the Royals, who have lost seven of their last eight FA Cup ties against Premier League opposition, while they have only won one of their previous 22 meetings against the Red Devils across all competitions.