Liverpool team news: Ayari, Milner, Mitoma and Watson available

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Charlie Hanson

2025-12-12T10:00+00:00

James Milner is available to face his former side on Saturday. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Albion will be looking to move back into the European spots this Saturday when they take on Liverpool at Anfield, kick-off 3pm.

Team news

Fabian Hurzeler will be boosted by the return of four players this weekend.

Speaking in his press conference on Friday, he said, "We have Kaoru Mitoma, James Milner, Tommy Watson and Yasin Ayari back. That’s the positive news.

"They are definitely options to be in the squad, so we have decisions to make. It will mean some players will be out of the squad, but I think it's a positive thing that we have to make decisions on which players are in the squad and which players are not.

"Kaoru has overcome the pain issue and he trained well this week, so he will be an option."

You can read a full update on Stefanos Tzimas's knee injury here.

Liverpool are expecting to have Federico Chiesa available, but Cody Gakpo and Wataru Endo will miss the match through injury.

Yasin Ayari has missed our last two Premier League games. 📷 by James Boardman.

Their last line-up

The Reds to take on Inter 👊🔴 #UCL
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 9, 2025

Liverpool made it four unbeaten in all competitions with a 1-0 win at Inter Milan on Tuesday in the Champions League. The Reds have drawn their two previous Premier League matches, at home to Sunderland and away to Leeds United.

Match facts

Liverpool have lost just one of their eight Premier League home games against Brighton (W5 D2), though it was the only other time they’ve faced them as the competition’s reigning champions (0-1 in February 2021).

Brighton beat Liverpool 3-2 in their last meeting in May but have never beaten the Reds in consecutive league matches before.

The team scoring first hasn’t won any of the last four Premier League meetings between Brighton and Liverpool (D1 L3), since a 3-0 victory for the Seagulls in January 2023.

Liverpool have just 23 points (W7 D2 L6) and have conceded 24 goals in the Premier League this season, the worst start by a reigning champion in both metrics after 15 games since Leicester in 2016-17 (16 points, 26 conceded).

Brighton have kept a clean sheet in each of their last two away Premier League matches – the Seagulls haven’t kept three in a row since between March and July 2020.

Liverpool have conceded 48 goals in 35 Premier League games in 2025 – only twice before have they shipped 50+ goals in a year in the competition, doing so in 2012 (51) and 2014 (52).

Brighton are winless in their last eight Premier League matches in December (D5 L3) – manager Fabian Hürzeler has won a match in each of the other nine months he’s taken charge with the Seagulls other than the festive month.

Liverpool haven’t scored in the opening 45 minutes in any of their last five Premier League matches, their longest run without a first-half goal since between January and March 2021 (eight games). This season represents their lowest share of first-half goals (25%, 6/24) in a Premier League campaign.

Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke has made 217 line-breaking passes in the Premier League this season, more than any other player. 110 of those have broken the opponent’s attacking line, also a league best.

Mohamed Salah has been an unused substitute in two of Liverpool’s last three Premier League matches – he’d only been an unused sub in three of the first 303 matchday squads he featured in for the Reds. This season is Salah’s lowest tallies per 90 minutes for Liverpool for shots (2.6), shots on target (0.8) and touches in the opposition box (7.3).

Match officials