Brighton v Liverpool: Salah to sparkle in end-of-term funfest | OneFootball

Brighton v LiverpoolMonday 19 May, 20:00Live on Sky Sports

Brighton must shrug off double blow

Not only did Brighton's hated rivals Crystal Palace win the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday, but in doing so they probably closed the door on the Seagulls' hopes of qualifying for European football. Now the Seagulls must finish eighth in the table and hope that Chelsea win the Conference League and finish seventh in the Premier League. Only then will Fabian Hürzeler be able to take the south coast club back into continental competition.

The youthful Hürzeler isn't universally popular with Brighton fans, but delivering a top-eight finish would be an achievement, not least because he's been without injured senior players Solly March and James Milner for most of the season. The likes of Yasin Asari (21 years old), Carlos Baleba (21) and Jack Hinshelwood (20) are all learning on the job in midfield.

All three of those players have big potential - especially Baleba - but it's currently a far cry from the midfield of Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo that Brighton once had. With another season under Hürzeler, who knows what they could achieve?

This has been a team of peaks and troughs this season. Brighton are currently on a run of two wins in eight, and before that they won four in a row. They have only suffered back-to-back top-flight defeats twice this term, and their tally of nine league losses is the best outside the top six. As Hürzeler showed in winning promotion at St Pauli in his native Germany, he knows how to make a team tough to beat.

Brighton have only lost three times at home in the league, they have beaten Manchester City and Chelsea at the Amex and they have held Arsenal, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest to draws. Keeping clean sheets at home has been a big issue though, as the Seagulls have managed a paltry three all season.

Skipper Lewis Dunk should return to the defence after missing the win at Wolves with a minor problem, while Kaoru Mitoma is struggling with a heel injury, and it's not clear whether the Japanese winger will be fit enough to start. Brazilian forward Joao Pedro, who is in the mix to win Young Player of the Year, is back from suspension.

Party boys Liverpool have earned their sunshine break

The beauty of winning a league title with room to spare is that you can party hard and party often. Reds boss Arne Slot has been living it up in Ibiza, while many of his players have been maxing and relaxing in Dubai. If you can't celebrate a record-equalling 20th league title for your club, when can you celebrate?

Perhaps understandably, Liverpool's form has somewhat tailed off recently. They were swept aside 3-1 by Champions League-chasing Chelsea, and they blew a 2-0 lead at home to closest challengers Arsenal, eventually having to settle for a 2-2 draw.

Slot has tried to defuse the ongoing row about Trent Alexander-Arnold's imminent departure, with a mix of cheers and boos greeting the right-back's introduction as a sub against Arsenal. The Dutch coach wants to move past the controversy, and it will be fascinating to see whether the Liverpudlian defender starts at the Amex, or indeed in the final home game against Crystal Palace.

Mohamed Salah, fresh from signing his new contract, still has personal goals to achieve. He is on course to win the Premier League Golden Boot for a record-equalling fourth time, and he has already broken Thierry Henry's record for the most goal involvements in a single 38-game Premier League season. The overall record in 47 (set in a 42-match season), and Salah is on 46, with 28 goals and 18 assists.

Salah should make his 300th Premier League appearance on Monday night, and if he scores it'll be a record-breaking 17th away goal of the Premier League season. These are staggering figures that the Egyptian makes seem routine.

No pressure, and no defending

Liverpool are home and hosed, and it's no coincidence that their games have become a bit chaotic as a result. An Over 3.5 Goals bet has landed in five of their last eight league matches, and I fancy a similar outcome here.

Salah will be chasing records, Brighton will be pushing for the win they need to keep their faint European hopes alive, and it's also the Seagulls' final home game of the season. You know the end of term, when everyone scrawls on each other's school shirts and wears their tie around their heads like a Rambo-style bandana? Yup, that's where we're at.

There's a nice little OddsBoost available on the Sportsbook too. You can back Salah to have a shot on target and be fouled at least once at evens.

Salah has had a shot on target in 26 of his 36 Premier League games this term, and has been fouled at least once in 21 of them. He'll want to be on the ball a lot as he goes hunting records for his growing collection.