Is Brighton's central midfield better than what Liverpool have to offer?

A Luis Diaz header from a beautifully clipped Joel Matip through ball and a Mo Salah second-half penalty gave the Reds all three points on a crisp spring afternoon – their eighth successive league win in what was turning out to be an historic season for the club.

It was a standard Albion performance under Graham Potter that day, tremendous amounts of huff and puff, but never enough quality to really threaten Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Potter himself summed it up post-match: “We gave it a go, the quality of the opponent is high. We found ourselves 2-0 down and the boys gave everything, but at the end of the day, the opponent was better.”

At that moment in time, Liverpool looked unstoppable, having lost just one of their last 16 games in all competitions and were growing in confidence that they could pull off a unthinkable quadruple.

Brighton, on the other hand, were at their lowest point in what would eventually turn-out to be a memorable season for the Seagulls. The Liverpool defeat was their fifth in a row, having scored one goal in that run, leaving them 13th in the Premier League table.

However, Albion’s season would turnaround four weeks later, when they surprised many by beating an in-form Arsenal team 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

That day, Potter gave a debut to an unknown South American talent in the heart of his midfield, enter 20-year-old Moises Caicedo.

Having returned from his loan spell at Belgium club Beerschot, the Ecuadorian international was thrown in at the deep end and came up smiling.

His performances for the rest of the season would help the club lose just one of the eight games he played – including memorable wins against Tottenham and Manchester United – the later in which he scored his first goal for the club.

Of course, this end-of-season run cannot solely be put down to Caicedo’s introduction, as there was many quality performances across the pitch, including his then-midfield partner Yvies Bissouma and Player’s Player of the Season Marc Cucurella.

In fact, there were many question marks as to how Albion would cope with losing two of their star players in big money transfers, with Bissouma joining Antonio Conte at Tottenham and Cucurella heading to the blue half of West London.

But as both players struggled to adapt to their new homes, Potter’s side continued to fly. Despite not replacing the Bissouma-shaped hole in the middle of the park, the club won four of their first six league games, leaving them fourth in the Premier League table after a impressive 5-2 thrashing of Leicester at a sun-kissed Amex Stadium at the end of September.

Man-of-the-match that day was Alexis Mac Allister, having scored two and another unfairly disallowed by VAR. The Argentinian sealed victory with an exquisite, curling free-kick from 25 yards out, capping off a wonderful performance and overall start to the season for both him and the club.

Mac Allister had previously been rotated regularly in an ever-changing Potter midfield, being inter-changed with Jakub Moder, Pascal Gross and Enock Mwepu since joining the Seagulls in 2019.

However, in this campaign an opportunity opened for the 24-year-old to stamp his authority on the central midfield position and alongside Caicedo, the two have formed one of the best midfield partnerships in the Premier League.

Whether in Potter’s 3-4-3 system or new head coach Roberto De Zerbi’s 4-2-3-1, Caicedo and Mac Allister have always been preferred as the two to sit in front of the backline. Offering both the defensive protection and technical ability to control possession and start attacking phases of play.

Both suit the club’s current footballing style perfectly. Their youthful energy is what is required for the high-pressing, intricate style of play that is imperative to both Potter and De Zerbi’s footballing philosophy.

The pair also compliment each other. Caicedo’s strength in the tackle and ability to breaking up opposition attacks allows Mac Allister the freedom to dictate play and link the team smoothly from back to front.

Caicedo and Mac Allister have started 14 of Albion’s 17 league games so far this season. The only game where neither man has played saw Brighton conceded four goals in a home defeat to league leaders Arsenal – the first and only time this has happened this season.

A lot has therefore changed in ten months, as De Zerbi’s Brighton prepare to welcome Klopp’s Liverpool to the Amex Stadium this weekend, just one point and two places below them in the table.

The 19-time league winners have failed to re-capture the form of last season, where they narrowly missed out on winning the Premier League and Champions League to add to their FA Cup and EFL Cup triumphs.

Fans and pundits alike have raised issues with the Reds engine room. For so many years, Klopp’s midfield had outrun, outmuscled and totally suffocated its opposition, the likes of which even Manchester City and Barcelona had failed to cope with.

However, the good times are coming to an end it seems for the likes of Jordan Henderson (32) and James Milner (37), who have not been helped by the worrying lack of form of Fabiano and consistent injury issues of Thiago.

The new youthful additions of Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho have yet to show the same physical prowess of their elder statesmen, while Naby Keita seems be a lost cause after five years at the club.

Currently, Klopp’s once imperious midfield looks weak and tired, helpless against counter-attacking opponents such as Manchester United, Napoli, Leeds and most recently Brentford.

The three men in the middle are now unable to support the defensive high-line implemented by their German boss, meaning they have only kept five clean sheets in 27 games across all competitions this season.

Former Liverpool defender and current Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher summarised: “I don’t know what has happened to Liverpool in terms of midfield, they have not bought one midfield player in four-and-a-half years and that was Thiago.

"So, it’s coming back to haunt them. When I watch that midfield and Liverpool now. It feels like it is morphing into something else, a more technical team. They won’t get top four unless they buy another midfielder.”

It is no wonder then that Liverpool are linked with Brighton’s Caicedo, with many reports claiming the club are looking at the possibility of making a move for the Ecuadorian in this transfer window.

Caicedo would seemly fit perfectly into Liverpool’s workhorse midfield and his current World Cup-winning partner Mac Allister would not also not look out of place playing week-in and week-out in front of the Anfield faithful.

It is always said that a good way to compare two teams, is to ask how many players from one side would get into the other.

Before the game on March 12 last year, it would have difficult to argue for any Albion player even making it onto the away team bench.

However, when they two teams line-up this weekend, it wouldn't be too outrageous a comment to say Albion’s midfield duo would be current regular starters for the six-time European Champions.