Prediction: Crystal Palace vs Liverpool



Verdict: Away win & both teams to score

Best Odds: 23/10

Bookmaker: William Hill

This season keeps getting better for Liverpool, who are now also through to the League Cup quarter-final and they head to Selhurst Park in excellent spirits. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, have lost two games in a row, and they clearly need to show a considerable improvement if they want to get something from this game.

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace may be sitting in the middle of the Premier League standings at the moment, but there is plenty of cause for concern at Selhurst Park. The Eagles have just suffered back to back defeats to West Ham United and Leicester City, but it is the fact that they last kept a clean sheet on 13th April that is the most worrying. Both Scott Dann and Pape Souare have been sorely missed in recent weeks, while Jason Puncheon was another important missing last weekend, with their replacements far from impressive. With key attacker Yannick Bolasie leaving the club, summer recruit Christian Benteke has not been getting the service he deserves, as both Andros Townsed and Wilfried Zaha should be doing much better. This is true for Yohan Cabaye as well, who is a shade of the player he was last season. Taking everything into account, this is definitely not the right time to be facing one of England’s in-form sides, and Palace could find it hard to avoid third straight defeat. Being very low on confidence at the moment, the hosts will struggle to cope with Liverpool’s gegenpressing style of play, and their poor defensive run is almost certain to continue.

Team News

Captain Scott Dann is expected to be back in contention after recovering from a hamstring problem, but Jason Puncheon faces a fitness test.

Meanwhile, Pape Souare, Loic Remy and Jonathan Benteke remain in the treatment room.



Liverpool

For the first time after quite a while, Liverpool find themselves very much involved in the Premier League title chase, and many see them as one of the most likely candidates for the coveted trophy. It’s now been 26 years since the Reds last won the league title, so no wonder the fans are very excited about the latest performances of Jurgen Klopp’s charges. The German manager appears to have finally found the perfect balance in the side as he was not afraid to leave some star players out of the starting line-up, and this has resulted in some outstanding performances. The Reds won five of last six fixtures to climb to third in the overall standings, and they did so despite conceding in each of those games. This is enough to suggest that there is still plenty of room for improvement, especially when the defending phase is concerned, but the front three of Coutinho, Firmino and Mane seems pretty impressive. Unsurprisingly, Jurgen Klopp decided to rest his key men in the EFL Cup clash against Tottenham, but his back-up players did really well to secure progress to the quarter-final, thus further improving the dressing room atmosphere. Sitting level on points with Man City and Arsenal, Liverpool will want to extend the great run of results at Selhurst Park, and we wouldn’t bet against them succeeding in their quest.

Team News

After his star players were rested in midweek, Jurgen Klopp is likely to revert to the team that beat West Bromwich last weekend.

Joe Gomez and Oluwaseyi Ojo are the only two unavailable footballers at the moment, whereas Danny Ings could make the squad after returning into action against Spurs.

Key Factors to Consider

• Both teams scored in each of their last eight meetings
• Liverpool conceded in each of last five Premier League wins
• The Reds won on their last two visits to Selhurst Park
• Palace lost two of last four home games in the league
• Liverpool won last three fixtures on the road

Conclusion

Liverpool have been on top of their game of late and we expect them to continue with strong performances at Selhurst Park. But, having conceded in each of their last five wins as well as each of last eight meetings with Palace, we don’t think they can keep a clean sheet in this one.

Verdict: Away win & both teams to score

Best Odds: 23/10

Bookmaker: William Hill