Brighton and Hove Albion boss Fabian Hürzeler believes back-to-back Premier League games against title hopefuls Liverpool and Manchester City will show whether his side are ready to “challenge the establishment”.
Albion are at Anfield tomorrow (Saturday 2 November), just three days after suffering defeat in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Arne Slot’s second-placed Reds.
The Seagulls are then scheduled to host Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions at the Amex Stadium next weekend.
Hürzeler said: “Now we can prove to ourselves how far we are as a team and how ready we are to really challenge the establishment.
“In the end, that’s where we want to go. That’s the ambition from the club. That’s our responsibility to show it individually and also as a group if we are ready or not.”
Brighton’s only top-flight defeat since head coach Hürzeler replaced Roberto De Zerbi in the summer was a 4-2 loss at Chelsea at the end of September.
The Seagulls were beaten 3-2 in the cup by Liverpool on Wednesday (30 October) after both sides made eight changes for the tie.
Hürzeler said: “There were a lot of moments where we were ready. There were a lot of moments where they (the players) felt that we were there but they didn’t make the last step.
“Hopefully, we can improve our performance on Saturday. Then we might have a chance to win this game.”
Liverpool have dropped just five points from a possible 27 since Slot succeeded Jurgen Klopp.
The creditable 2-2 draw at title rivals Arsenal last weekend was the first blemish on the Reds’ record since a surprise 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday 14 September.
Hürzeler said: “I saw this game. Of course, Nottingham have a different style of play (to Brighton).
“It was the early stage of the season. During this period Liverpool have improved a lot.
“They have now several patterns to play different positionings, very fluid in the game.
“They have at the moment two (or) three players in the offensive role that are in a good shape so it will be very important that we defend together and don’t give them a lot of one-against-one situations.”
Brighton are due to kick off at 3pm tomorrow against Liverpool at Anfield and at 5.30pm on Saturday 9 November against Manchester City at the Amex.
