Ngumoha’s Case to Start Against Brighton Looks Impossible to Ignore

Liverpool go into Sunday’s visit from Brighton off the back of one of the most dramatic nights Anfield has produced in years, and the mood around the club heading into this one is markedly different to how it looked a fortnight ago. Seven games into the league season, Andoni Iraola’s side are still searching for the kind of week to week consistency that turns a promising squad into one that challenges at the top, but the belief inside the camp after Wednesday night should count for something.

That midweek win over Villarreal, coming back from two goals down to win 4-3, was thrilling to watch but uncomfortable to live through if you support this club. The same defensive carelessness that has crept into Liverpool’s performances all season reared its head early on, and once again it was the attack that bailed the team out rather than the other way round.

IMAGO | Anfield Index

The Ngumoha Factor

Nobody did more to turn that game around than Rio Ngumoha. Two assists and a constant willingness to run directly at defenders made him the single biggest reason Liverpool found their way back into a match that looked gone. It was not a lucky cameo either, it was a teenager repeatedly choosing the brave option and being backed up by genuine quality on the ball.

On that evidence alone, leaving him out against Brighton this weekend would be difficult to justify. His directness offers something Liverpool have been missing in recent weeks, and with Florian Wirtz drifting into pockets centrally and Bradley Barcola offering width on the other side, there is a genuinely exciting front line available to Iraola if he trusts what he saw in midweek. Alexander Isak, too, should benefit from facing a defence that may be forced to focus its attention elsewhere.

Liverpool’s next three games:

• Brighton [H]
• Chelsea [H]
• Arsenal [H]

How many wins can you see us getting? pic.twitter.com/q4aWC0c3cR

— centrekop. (@centrekop) October 22, 2026

Three Home Games That Could Define the Month

The fixture run above tells its own story. Brighton, Chelsea and Arsenal all arrive at Anfield in the space of a week and a half, and how Liverpool handle that stretch will say far more about where this season is heading than any single result in isolation. Win all three and the conversation around the club changes completely. Drop points carelessly and the same questions about defensive organisation will only get louder.

Brighton will not make it easy. Fabian Hurzeler has built a side that is comfortable with the ball and disciplined enough to make Liverpool pay for sloppy possession in the wrong areas. Liverpool cannot approach this the way they approached parts of the Villarreal game, conceding soft goals early and relying on their attack to repair the damage afterwards. That worked once. It will not always work.

Where the Balance Needs to Come From

Alexis Mac Allister grew into the Villarreal game as it went on and will need to do the same from the start here, dictating tempo while still getting into the final third when the moment allows. Alongside him, Trey Nyoni has quietly gone from fourth choice midfielder to a genuine part of Iraola’s first choice pairing, and his willingness to protect the back line will matter just as much as anything he does going forward.

At the back, Jeremy Jacquet has been one of the more consistent performers of the campaign and Virgil van Dijk’s experience remains central to keeping things calm, but both full backs need to pick their moments carefully. Brighton are the kind of side who will punish Liverpool if Milos Kerkez and Ronald Araujo both commit forward at the same time. Wirtz, for his part, continues to look more comfortable with the pace of the Premier League with every passing week, and his link play between midfield and attack will be key to making the extra man advantage in the final third count.

Our Prediction

There is enough quality in this Liverpool side to win this game comfortably if the sloppy start that has become a theme this season does not resurface. Ngumoha deserves the platform to show his midweek form was not a one off, and with Isak needing better service than he received against Brentford, a front line built around pace and movement should cause Brighton real problems.

Expect a tighter contest than some will predict given Brighton’s own attacking quality, but Liverpool’s extra threat and home advantage should be enough to get the job done.