Liverpool travel to the south coast to face Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon as the two sides meet in the league for the first time since 1983.

A future Red opened the scoring for the Seagulls that day before two late strikes from Ian Rush salvaged a 2-2 draw, but he's not the only player to play for both Brighton and Liverpool.

We've picked out the five most recent players to do so, but can you name them?

We've already given one away in the photo above to get you started.

Scroll down to reveal our top five.

Mark Lawrenson

Liverpool: 356 games, 18 goals

Liverpool signed Mark Lawrenson from Brighton for a club record fee in 1981 having been beaten to a deal for the centre-back by the Seagulls four years earlier.

Former Brighton boss Alan Mullery explains: "I phoned the Preston manager, Harry Catterick, and he told me Liverpool had offered £75,000. Mark was only 19 but we offered £100,000. Liverpool weren't prepared to up their bid so we got him ... we sold him for a million."

However, it was money very well spent by Liverpool manager Bob Paisley. Lawrenson formed a rock-solid partnership with Alan Hansen in the centre of defence and went on to win 10 major trophies at Anfield, including five league titles, the Double and the European Cup.

Joao Carlos Teixeira

Liverpool: 8 games, 1 goal. Brighton: 35 games, 5 goals 

Talented Portuguese midfielder Joao Carlos Teixeira was signed by Liverpool from Sporting Lisbon in January 2012 after he impressed against the Reds in the NextGen Series.

He made his debut under Brendan Rodgers in a 3-2 win at Fulham in 2014, but was loaned out to Brighton for the following season. He was voted the Seagulls' Young Player of the Year for 2014/15, despite missing the season run in after breaking his leg against Huddersfield in April.

Teixeira made his first start for Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp during the 2015-16 season but left Anfield to return to Portugal with Porto at the end of the campaign.

Jimmy Case

Liverpool: 269 games, 46 goals.

His autobiography is titled 'Hard Case' and talk to any Liverpool or Brighton fan about midfielder Jimmy Case and they will tell you he was simply one of the hardest men the game has ever known. 

But he was much more than just that. Case is one the Liverpool's leading goalscorers in continental competition and helped add three European Cups (1977, 1978 and 1981) and the UEFA Cup (1976) to the Anfield trophy cabinet. 

A hero for both clubs, the four-time league title winner left the Reds to join Brighton in 1981 and helped the south coast club reach the 1983 FA Cup final, scoring in the semi-final, when they took Manchester United to a replay. He returned to Brighton as player/manager in 1993.

Dean Saunders

Liverpool: 61 games, 25 goals.

Striker Dean Saunders came through the ranks at his boyhood club Swansea, where his father Roy had been a player and coach, but was reportedly on his way to Australia on a free transfer before Brighton spotted him playing in a reserve match and manager Chris Cattlin snapped him up.

A success at the Seagulls, Saunders moved to Oxford United and Derby County before Liverpool signed him for a club-record fee in 1991.

The Wales international was expected take Anfield by storm but just 61 games and 25 goals later he was sold to Aston Villa. He returned to haunt the Reds within nine days of leaving, scoring two goals in a 4-2 Villa victory.

Michael Robinson

Liverpool: 52 games, 13 goals.

A skilful forward, Michael Robinson joined Brighton in 1980 after a high-profile £750,000 move to Manchester City lasted less than a season. He helped the unfancied Seagulls reach the 1983 FA Cup final and played more than 100 games for the south coast club.

His exploits in the cup, plus his goal against the Reds in the league clash earlier in the season, alerted Joe Fagan to his talents and he was snapped up by Liverpool as cover for Ian Rush. Despite being down the pecking order at Anfield, the Ireland international still managed to win the league, League Cup and European Cup Treble in 1984.

He spent the latter part of his career in Spain with Osasuna and after retiring became a respected football pundit on Spanish TV.


  • Bonus points if you also named Alan Navarro, who never made a senior appearance for Liverpool but did sign a professional contract with the club in 2001 and twice featured on the bench.