--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-10-23T08:41:39.051Z last_updated: 2026-10-23T05:00:00+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/liverpool/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGl2ZXJwb29sZWNoby5jby51ay9zcG9ydC9mb290YmFsbC9mb290YmFsbC1uZXdzL3Jpby1uZ3Vtb2hhLWNvdWxkLWFuZG9uaS1pcmFvbGFzLTM0ODAwNDMx --- # Rio Ngumoha could be Andoni Iraola's Liverpool trump card against Brighton - **Source:** - **Published:** 23 Oct - **Club:** Liverpool - **Original URL:** https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rio-ngumoha-could-andoni-iraolas-34800431 Liverpool welcome Brighton to Anfield on Sunday (Oct 25) in what is set to be one of Andoni Iraola's biggest tests to date as the Reds' new head coach, with Fabian Hurzeler's side one of the Premier League's most in-form teams. After just about seeing off a nine-man Brentford last weekend, Iraola's charges eventually recovered from a two-goal deficit to dominate the second half against Villarreal in midweek, winning 4-3 and preserving the Basque coach's 100% record in the Champions League. In the league, though, results have been more up and down. Draws against Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Fulham and a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City (after being reduced to 10 men) threatened confidence as the Reds have gradually accustomed to a new tactical system, but three consecutive wins have seen momentum return ahead of three tough home games against Brighton, Chelsea (in the Carabao Cup) and Arsenal. The Seagulls, meanwhile, are flying high and enjoying their best-ever start to a top flight season, having won five of their seven games so far with a 4-3 turnaround at Chelsea and a 1-1 draw against Leeds the only blots on an otherwise perfect record for Hurzeler. Make sure you never miss the latest Liverpool FC news and opinion by making Liverpool Echo one of your Google preferred sources. The 33-year-old, who holds the record for the Premier League's youngest-ever manager, is now into his third season on the south coast after joining from hip German outfit St Pauli - with whom he earned a first promotion back to the Bundesliga in 13 years. Under Hurzeler this season, Brighton have won plaudits for their forward-thinking tactics, combining elite pressing numbers with a ruthless efficiency in front of goal - all while conceding the fewest goals in the league. So, how do Liverpool beat them? Hurzeler may have only spent a year and a half as head coach of St Pauli, but what he achieved during that time was enough to turn heads across Europe. Just 29 when handed the top job, Hurzeler won his first 10 games in charge of the relegation-threatened 2. Bundesliga stragglers, guiding them almost to the promotion play-off in his first half-season, before winning the league outright in his first and only full season at the helm. St Pauli under Hurzeler were a possession dominant side that played with a back three when defending but switched to a four in build-up, one of the centre-backs stepping into midfield to create central overloads in build-up. Though the formation has changed, those principles have remained the same - Hurzeler is a manager who constantly looks for new ways to create a numbers advantage wherever his team are on the pitch. Left-back Olivier Boscagli drops alongside Lewis Dunk and Luka Vuskovic into a back three on the ball, with defensive midfielder Chema Andres giving Brighton a fifth man (including the goalkeeper, Bart Verbruggen) when building out from the back, which they do patiently to work the space ahead of them - a continuation in spirit of Roberto De Zerbi's famous press-baiting tactics. If the opposition forces them wide, they will look for diagonal passes into the midfield with players forming a line to hit one-twos around the corner to evade a man-marking approach. The Seagulls will then look to play forwards quickly after bypassing the initial opposition press, hitting the space that opens up in midfield or further up. Rather than holding rigid positions, their attacking players will then move directly towards the ball to support the player holding it up, giving him more options for combinations to create chances. Just as Hurzeler's wing-backs in Germany held the attacking width, with one of the midfielders getting into the box to form essentially a front six in the opposition half, Brighton now similarly look to create overloads in attack with Ferdi Kadioglu and Pascal Gross advancing from right-back and midfield respectively. In committing so many players to the attack, Brighton have plenty of passing options in the final third. As such, they top the league for shots on target (6.0) and big chances (4.29) per game, while only Man City have created more expected goals (xG) overall than Brighton's 14.9 - with the Seagulls comfortably the league's top scorers on 23. Gross's flexible role has seen him cover more total distance in the league than all but two players (Vitaly Janelt and Anton Stach), an astonishing statistic for a player in his second stint at the club who is two years his manager's senior at 35, all while contributing three goals and four assists from seven league games. Main marksman Charalampos Kostoulas sits level with midfielders Gross and Jack Hinshelwood for goals scored, and it speaks volumes to Brighton's collective ability to chip in that the Greek international is only 36th among all Premier League players for xG per 90 - despite playing up top in the league's best attack. Needless to say, having such overloads in attack also gives Brighton an advantage when the ball is lost high up the pitch, which leads into the more dramatic shift in Hurzeler's tactics since his time in his native Germany: his approach to pressing. The former defensive midfielder, once a teammate of Emre Can's in the Bayern Munich youth ranks, used a 5-4-1 system with St Pauli, preferring to create a compact mid-block when defending rather than committing to a high press. Having adapted his Brighton side to respond to the tactical shifts in the Premier League during his time in England, Hurzeler now calls upon a high-octane press when out of possession, using his forwards to press from behind once opposition sides break through Brighton's first line, limiting their options to play backwards when under pressure from the Seagulls' midfielders. This approach was lauded when Brighton dismantled Arsenal 3-0 in September, and it poses serious problems for teams looking to build out from the back when playing against them. Brighton's pressing game makes them comfortably the best team in the Premier League at winning the ball back high up the pitch. Kostoulas and Georginio Rutter, Hurzeler's most-used central strikers, sit first and second in the league for possessions won in the final third per 90, while Brighton as a team have done this a full twice more per 90 (7.3) than the next closest side in Bournemouth. Liverpool by contrast, who are employing one of the league's more aggressive man-to-man presses, nevertheless sit 11th among all Premier League teams for this metric. Not only do Brighton press effectively against settled possession, but by having high numbers of attackers in close proximity to the ball, Hurzeler's side are well-positioned to counter-press effectively when the ball is lost. That means the Seagulls can take more risks in possession; despite sitting third for average possession (59.8%), Brighton are only sixth for accurate passes per match (434.1) and passing accuracy (85.1%) - looking to play the ball forwards as soon as they win it back to generate chances to score. With ruthless efficiency, Hurzeler has elevated Brighton to serious contenders at the top end of the Premier League - and they are not to be underestimated. All told, Brighton play a style of football that many Liverpool supporters will be able to appreciate. With their intensity on and off the ball, you'd be forgiven for thinking playing Thursday night games in the Conference League could start to take its toll sooner or later, but so far, that is yet to be seen. With the Conference League also adopting a league phase format, there is less pressure on their early games. Brighton followed up their 4-0 drubbing of FK Kauno Zalgiris last week by dismantling their bitter rivals Crystal Palace 5-0 three days later, having been able to rotate all but three of their regular outfield starters. Iraola won't be expecting any drop-off from Brighton after this Thursday's assignment against Jablonec in Czechia, then. Instead, he will be looking for ways Liverpool can test the visitors in ways they haven't yet been this season - no small feat considering the Reds are up against a side that haven't conceded a goal in the last 478 minutes of league action. A huge part of that has been the performances of Verbruggen in the Brighton net. Over the last few seasons, the Netherlands No. 1 has developed into one of the league's top keepers and, at the age of 24, there is plenty more to come. Only James Trafford and Konstantinos Tzolakis can boast better save percentages this season than Verbruggen's 76.2% (Alisson has not registered an average save percentage above 70% in the last two seasons), while only Gianluigi Donnarumma can match his goals prevented of 3.1. Liverpool will need to be clinical, but fortunately the Reds boast one of the league's most in-form strikers. Alexander Isak has scored five goals in the league this season from an xG of 3.9, and if the Swede is at his ruthless best at the weekend he may only need one chance to make Brighton pay. Verbruggen's importance to Brighton is only underlined by the fact that the Seagulls are actually tenth in the league for xG conceded (10.2), despite no side conceding fewer than Brighton's five goals. Liverpool, whose eight goals conceded is more in line with their xG against of 8.3, should be able to work openings through Florian Wirtz, who leads the league for chances created (20), and with confident attackers at their disposal will expect to be able to put Verbruggen under pressure. That task will become easier if the Reds are able to escape Brighton's counter-press and attack in transition. Despite their high-intensity style, the Seagulls don't have a single entry in the top 75 Premier League players for fastest top speed this season. That issue becomes more noticeable when looking at their back line - particularly the two centre-backs. Captain Dunk clocked a top speed of 32.1km/h last season but hasn't broken 31.1km/h this term, which places him in the slowest 26% of Premier League centre-backs. Vuskovic alongside him has looked a tremendous signing from Spurs, but has acknowledged in interviews that speed is not his strong suit; hitting heights of 31.2km/h in the Bundesliga last season, Vuskovic is in a similar pace bracket to his 34-year-old partner. Kadioglu at right-back is comfortably the quickest of Brighton's first-choice back four at 33.8km/h, which makes him faster than around two-thirds of Premier League full-backs, and would likely match Cody Gakpo or Rio Ngumoha for pace - but Bradley Barcola, who has clocked the second-highest top speed in the league so far at 35.9km/h, will be licking his lips. Not only would Barcola comfortably beat Kadioglu in a foot race, but the Turkish international typically takes up high positions in attack that could be exploited by the 24-year-old in behind. Victor Munoz Villanueva would be the obvious choice to punish the sluggish Boscagli at left-back, whose 31.3km/h top speed this season places him in the slowest 7% of full-backs, but the Spanish winger could miss the game through injury. Instead, Iraola will likely try to hurt the Frenchman with one-v-ones. Rio completed a jaw-dropping nine of his 10 attempted dribbles against Villarreal on Tuesday night (Oct 20), and after being withdrawn early in that game should be considered the favourite to start on the right against Boscagli, who has been dribbled past more times per 90 (0.92) than 85% of other Premier League full-backs. If Rio can produce a similarly awe-inspiring performance on Sunday, he may well be Liverpool's best route home. Assuming Liverpool are able to create sufficient chances against their visitors, they will still need to stay switched on to keep Brighton from creating their own. The Seagulls are second in the league for accurate long balls per match (26.7) behind only Nottingham Forest, with Boscagli typically the man to go long should he spot an opening higher up the pitch during build-up. Liverpool have struggled with this at times and certainly did against Villarreal. If right winger Diego Gomez - the scorer of a worldie from the halfway line in Brighton's last game - is able to create similar uncertainty for Milos Kerkez as Alberto Moleiro did for Ronald Araujo by dropping into midfield in midweek, the Seagulls could disrupt Liverpool's man-for-man pressing structure. This would leave the Reds open to the kind of direct attacks Brighton thrive off - after witnessing his side concede two first-half goals in similar circumstances against Villarreal, Iraola will no doubt be concocting a plan for this exact scenario, which may once again require committing an extra player into midfield off the ball. On Tuesday, this was Ryan Gravenberch, but Araujo will surely retain his place at right-back on Sunday. Brighton have scored more set piece goals (8) than any other team in the league, largely through inswinging corners directed towards the back post, so having three aerially-dominant defenders in Araujo, Jeremy Jacquet and Virgil van Dijk is a must if Liverpool want to directly combat this. There are plenty of head-scratchers here to keep Iraola awake at night - with Hurzeler's brand of football almost perfectly cooked up to combat the way sides like Liverpool play. No longer are Brighton a side that teams like Liverpool 'should expect to beat'. Despite routinely shedding at least one of their best players every season, the Seagulls' recruitment model is the envy of the league and, in Fabian Hurzeler, they now have a manager who has made them serious top four contenders. After thrashing champions Arsenal, Brighton have nothing to fear, and time will tell how high they can truly aim. Could a deserved title challenge actually be on the cards for the league's best-run club? Wherever they finish at the end of the season, Brighton are a seriously troubling prospect for any side they come up against right now, and Liverpool are no different; with the Reds still adapting to Iraola's pressing system, Hurzeler's well-drilled outfit will be ready to pounce on any mistakes. All the same, there is plenty of reason for fans to be excited. This promises to be a thrilling contest played at the highest intensity, and the kind of match that can make Anfield a major player in the outcome of the game. With Liverpool's attack starting to look like clicking, this would be a fine moment for a statement performance. If Iraola can oversee a first home league win of the season, it would be the first time the Reds have won four back-to-back in all competitions since February, and a serious statement of intent ahead of facing Arsenal next weekend. Fortune favours the brave, and Liverpool will need every ounce of bravery they can summon on Sunday. That should lead Iraola to pick arguably the bravest player in his squad. For Liverpool, and Rio Ngumoha, opportunity awaits. *All statistics used are from Fotmob unless otherwise stated. FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page