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Today, Roberto De Zerbi will take his place in the manager’s dugout at Anfield.

He will do so as head coach of Brighton & Hove Albion, Liverpool’s visitors in a key match in the Premier League title run-in, yet when Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Merseyside was revealed in January, plenty wondered if he would take up permanent occupancy at Anfield.

The news that Xabi Alonso – who had been the early frontrunner to be Klopp’s successor – is staying with Bayer Leverkusen duly prompted a fresh wave of speculation on Thursday. 

De Zerbi’s record might suggest he should be part of the conversation.

The fact that he is unbeaten in four games against Liverpool is testament to that.

His comments yesterday about wanting to know more about Brighton’s “plan” before committing his future to the club also suggests De Zerbi – who has also been heavily linked with Bayern Munich – may be considering his options. 

As The Athletic reported at the time, De Zerbi scored highly on the data produced by Liverpool’s analysts as they searched for Klopp’s replacement.

In the last couple of months, they have been eliminated from the Europa League and FA Cup, and suffered heavy defeats at Luton Town and Fulham, while also recording resounding victories over Crystal Palace and Sheffield United.

Over a longer period, though, the results De Zerbi has produced since arriving at Brighton, along with the style he’s implemented, might ordinarily make him one of the contenders for the Liverpool job.

The involvement of Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s newly appointed sporting director, in the hiring process would surely help any claim he might have.

In his previous role at Bournemouth, Hughes would have hired De Zerbi after he left Shakhtar Donetsk, only for a change of ownership to shift Bournemouth’s priorities.

Hughes is a big admirer of De Zerbi, and the Italian has the self-belief and powerful personality that would not have him fearing the prospect of following a manager as powerful as Klopp.

Yet that spiky, confrontational style, illustrated again yesterday but which has been particularly prevalent when it comes to player recruitment, could also be one of the factors counting against De Zerbi when it comes to bigger clubs appointing him. 

There was a moment, after Brighton had lost 4-0 to Roma at the Olympic Stadium in March, which illustrates the potential problem.

Having been asked to explain the heavy nature of the defeat, De Zerbi replied: “Today we paid for our mistakes.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola doesn’t just call anyone “one of the most influential managers of the last 20 years”.

Brighton’s Solly March scores the opening goal against Liverpool in January 2023 (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

From the moment De Zerbi took his place in the dugout as Brighton manager, his unique style has impressed many.

It was one of the most comprehensive losses in Klopp’s era to any team not named Manchester City.

Whether it has been passing through the lines, out-to-in runs or focusing their attacks down Liverpool’s right-hand side (as illustrated in the graphic below, which shows where Brighton launched their attacks in that 3-0 win), De Zerbi has repeatedly found ways to cause them problems. 

In the most recent meeting between the teams in October, Brighton also scored from a set piece, an area their record had been poor in previously.

De Zerbi’s possession-based approach, which encourages extended passing sequences, aims to draw the opposition out and then pass vertically through the invited press, cutting teams apart with dynamic attacking play.
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