Virgil van Dijk believes there is still "much more to come" from Rio Ngumoha after the talented teenager starred during Liverpool's Champions League victory in midweek. 

Ngumoha put on an impressive display during Liverpool's 4-3 win over Villarreal, a result that made it three wins from three to begin the Reds' European campaign. 

Aged 18 years and 52 days, Ngumoha became the third-youngest player to provide multiple assists in a Champions League game behind Warren Zaire-Emery against AC Milan in 2023 (17y 231d) and Theo Walcott against Hamburg in 2006 (17y 250d).

He is also the youngest player for Liverpool to either score or assist for the club in the Champions League, while Ngumoha is the youngest player on record since 2008-09 to complete 5+ dribbles (seven), have 10+ touches in the opposition box (12) and register an assist (two) in the competition. 

But Ngumoha has been restricted to just one start in the Premier League this season, and he has failed to register a goal contribution for the Reds over those appearances. 

Liverpool's clash with Brighton this weekend could be an opportunity to start, with Andoni Iraola saying it would be difficult for Victor Munoz to recover in time from an issue with his knee, though Bradley Barcola, who was doing an individual training programme earlier in the week, trained as normal on Friday. 

"He's pretty electric at times and he showed it again. He was a complete threat constantly and their defenders had a tough time," said Van Dijk on Ngumoha's midweek display. 

Asked who has taken Ngumoha under their wing since the departure of Liverpool stalwart Mohamed Salah in the summer, Van Dijk added: "A few senior players.

"I would say Cody [Gakpo] is definitely part of that. But everyone has that role in order to help the youngsters in the group, the players who have not had so much experience.

"Everyone is chipping in but for him to work with Mo [Salah] last year was obviously massive, as Mo was one of the best wingers at the club and experienced everything, so why not soak in all the information and show it on the pitch and show your own qualities?

"I think he has shown it this season, but there is still much more to come."

1 – 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha is the youngest player on record since 2008-09 to complete 5+ dribbles (7), have 10+ touches in the opposition box (12) and register an assist (2) in a UEFA Champions League match. Fearless. https://t.co/VSZ4aKVHLt

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 20, 2026

Brighton, meanwhile, are riding high in the Premier League, with Fabian Hurzeler's side sitting in third following their thumping 5-0 win over rivals Crystal Palace last time out. 

The Seagulls became the ninth side in Premier League history to score three goals in the first 10 minutes of a match before Charalampos Kostoulas and Jack Hinshelwood concluded the rout after the break. 

In the Conference League in midweek, Brighton were forced to settle for a point after a goalless draw with Jablonec, though they are still ninth in the 36-team standings. 

Given Brighton's strong start to the season, many have questioned whether they can challenge for the Champions League places or even the Premier League title, with Hurzeler a man in demand amid uncertainty among the teams around him. 

There have been reports linking him to the Manchester United job with Michael Carrick under pressure, but Hurzeler remained focused on his duties with the Seagulls. 

"I'm really focused on my job here. I have no time to think about these rumours because we play every three days and, besides that, I have a lot of respect for Michael Carrick and what he has done with Manchester United the last season," Hurzeler said. 

"He's a great human being, a great personality. There's nothing more to say about that."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool – Alexander Isak

Isak has five goals in his last five Premier League appearances, as many as he scored in his previous 20 combined for Newcastle United and Liverpool.

The Sweden international has not ended on the losing side in any of his last 15 league appearances (W9 D6), having lost four of his first five in a Liverpool shirt.

Brighton – Charalampos Kostoulas

Kostoulas has scored and assisted in two of his last three Premier League appearances.

He's the first teenager to do so more than once in a season since Kelechi Iheanacho for Manchester City in 2016-17, while the last teenager to achieve it three times in one campaign was Michael Owen in 1998-99.

Babis is on right now! https://t.co/cmPkbWhIwX

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@BHAFC) October 19, 2026

MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 13 home games against Brighton in all competitions (W9 D3), winning each of their last four against the Seagulls at Anfield.

But with two draws and a defeat at Anfield in the Premier League this season, Liverpool could fail to win each of their opening four home matches of a league campaign for only the fourth time, after 1894-95, 1911-12, and 2012-13.

The Reds are also winless in their last five home Premier League matches (D4 L1), only twice having worse runs at Anfield: seven from November 2002 to February 2003 and eight from December 2020 to March 2021.

Brighton, meanwhile, have won each of their last four Premier League games by an aggregate score of 15-0. The last side to win five successive matches in the competition without conceding were Liverpool in April 2022.

Hurzeler's side are also one of only eight teams to have scored 23 goals in their opening seven Premier League games of a season, and the first since Man City in 2022-23 (23). The last side to have a goal difference of +18 after seven matches were the Citizens in 2019-20 (20).

The Seagulls have won two of their last three Premier League matches against Liverpool (L1), as many as they won in their first 15 against the Reds (D4 L9).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Liverpool – 46.8%

Draw – 26.4%

Brighton – 26.8%