Verdict: Away win
Best odds: 8/15
Bookmaker: Unibet
Crystal Palace are set to welcome Liverpool at Selhurst Park on Saturday in what will be the 14th Premier League game of the season for both teams. It means Palace boss Roy Hodgson will once again be facing the club he led at a time few Liverpool supporters care to remember.
Crystal Palace
If there’s anything that the Eagles have been consistent in this season, it’s inconsistency. They seem to be a personification of that thing in football when form means nothing; they’ve won when expected to lose, they’ve lost when expected to do better, and that has been the trend for them both at home and away.
Palace’s position in a closely nit table reflects all that. They are currently 12th with 18 points, with five games won, five games lost, and three draws. The recent run of results sheds absolutely no more light on the matter; two wins, two draws and two defeats in their last six outings.
In midweek, Hodgson’s team played away to West Ham and drew 1-1, with former Liverpool striker Christian Benteke’s opener cancelled out by a beautiful strike from the Hammers’ Sebastien Haller. Benteke was once again in the spotlight for getting himself sent off with a second yellow card later.
Team News
The red card means, of course, the big Belgian will not be able to face his old club on this occasion, and Hodgson will have to find another way to cause problems for the visitors’ defence. Palace have three more ex-Liverpool players in their ranks, but while Nathaniel Clyne could be involved, fellow defenders Mamadou Sakho and Martin Kelly are severe doubts for this clash through injury. Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, defender Nathan Ferguson and striker Connor Wickham remain out.
In the absence of Benteke, Hodgson is likely to turn to Jordan Ayew to lead the line alongside Wilfried Zaha. Gary Cahill will probably be in the heart of defence for this one, having been rested against West Ham.
Liverpool
Despite all the injury woes that have been besieging the Premier League champions throughout the season, they are back at the top of the league after Roberto Firmino’s late header saw them beat Tottenham Hotspur in a direct contest for the number one spot on Wednesday. Liverpool completely dominated Jose Mourinho’s team (even though Mourinho himself afterwards said the better team had lost) for most of the game, though Spurs did have a couple of chances through quick breaks which could have set a different course were they not squandered. Firmino’s strike set the score at 2-1 for the Merseysiders, after Mohamed Salah’s deflected opener was cancelled out by Son Heung-min’s fast counter, both in the first half.
So, after 13 games played, Liverpool are in the lead with 28 points to their name, three more than Spurs in second, but there is a long way to go yet before anything starts looking likely when it comes to the title race. It’s all still wide open.
Apart from defending their title, Jurgen Klopp and his players will have a corner of their collective mind set aside for the Champions League, where they finished top of their group and are set to face RB Leipzig in the round of 16. Still, it’s all about the English top flight at the moment.
Team News
Klopp will, of course, be without defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, both of whom are out probably until the start of next season. Left-back Kostas Tsimikas is out as well, but the manager will likely be more concerned with the absence of forward Diogo Jota. The former Wolverhampton Wanderers man injured his knee and is expected to be missing for up to two months. Midfielder James Milner is likely to remain on the sidelines due to a hamstring issue.
Funnily enough, Klopp probably won’t be worrying about the central part of his defence, despite the absence of Van Dijk and Gomez, as well as Joel Matip possibly missing out through back problems. Fabinho and 19-year-old Rhys Williams proved quite capable of doing the job against Spurs, and there is also 23-year-old Nathaniel Phillips to call upon if needed.
The good news for the champions is that midfielders Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are back fit, though neither of them is likely to be starting just yet. Thiago Alcantara remains out until after Christmas at the earliest.
Conclusion
The difference between Liverpool’s home and away records this season is huge at the moment. They’ve been winless on five previous occasions away from Anfield, drawing against Everton, Manchester City, Brighton and Fulham after their shocking 7-2 defeat at Villa Park in early October.
All this could well work in Palace’s favour, even though it’s been a while since they’ve gotten anything against Liverpool. On the other hand, Liverpool have been undefeated in 66 consecutive league matches at Anfield (not that it matters too much, of course, with this game being played at Selhurst Park), ever since they were beaten in the spring of 2017 – by Crystal Palace.
The champions will be looking to turn up the heat for this one after last week’s abysmal showing against Fulham, and to prove they can actually perform away from home. Palace stand as good a chance of denying them as any team in the league, but this time it feels like Liverpool will walk away with the full prize.
Verdict: Away win
Best odds: 8/15
Bookmaker: Unibet
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