The curtain falls on the English Premier Season on Sunday with a full slate of games. Manchester City has run away with the title, while the relegation teams have basically been decided. The only spot left to lock down is fourth place, which means a Champions League qualification spot and it is held by Liverpool, who are two points ahead of Chelsea. Liverpool hosts Brighton & Hove Albion and a single point will seal fourth for Liverpool, even if Chelsea wins away at Newcastle.
What To Know About Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion are 14th in the table after a 3-1 loss at Manchester City, getting a goal from Leonard Ulloa. It was definitely a drop-off from their previous game in which Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Manchester United 1-0 in a game that essentially guaranteed their safety, and going up against the champions on the road was always going to be a difficult task. However, the main goal for this season was safety and Brighton & Hove Albion achieved it after coming from the Championship last season. A solid defense kept them around led by Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy, along with goalkeeper Maty Ryan. However, they have to find someone to score goals as Glenn Murray had 12 to lead the team. That was more than a third of their team total.
What To Know About Liverpool
Liverpool could have wrapped up fourth spot, but instead they fell 1-0 at Chelsea to keep the Blues in the race. To be fair, Liverpool have been distracted by their run to the Champions League final as they had their semifinal with Roma in the last three weeks, but they have now failed to score in two straight English Premier League games; they had a 0-0 draw at home with Stoke City (who are relegated) in their previous game. Everyone knows about Liverpool’s attacking nous, led by Mohamed Salah, who has scored 31 goals and won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year Award. With 80 goals, only Manchester City have scored more in the league this season. But defense continues to be a worry for Liverpool and that is something they’ll need to invest in during the offseason.
Outlook
Liverpool are favored in this game at 1.16, with Brighton & Hove Albion coming in at 13.00 and a draw is rated at 7.50. Brighton & Hove Albion beat Liverpool 2-0 in the 1984 FA Cup; since then, Liverpool has five wins and a draw in six matches with them. That includes a 5-1 win at Brighton & Hove Albion on December 2nd in which Emre Can, Roberto Firmino with two, Philippe Coutinho and an own goal from Dunk gave Liverpool the three points, and Murray also scored. This game could be more of the same as Liverpool are the only team in the league to have no home losses this season, with 11 wins and seven draws. Away from home, only Stoke City have been worse than Brighton & Hove Albion, who have two wins, five draws and 11 losses on the road.
EPL Betting Pick: Liverpool
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