Crystal Palace vs Liverpool
Date: 31/03/18
K/O: 12.30pm
Venue: Selhurst Park
Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Liverpool’s trip to Selhurst Park is marred with injuries on both sides, but it’s a race for the top four for Liverpool and a race against the clock for Crystal Palace in their bid to beat the drop and stave off relegation from the Premier League.
The Recent
Crystal Palace were on a winless run of seven before beating Huddersfield away from home last time out (0-2). They had also lost four in a row. Liverpool had been unbeaten in seven before their meeting with Man Utd at Old Trafford (2-1) and beat Watford 5-0 last time out at Anfield.
Embed from Getty ImagesHead to Head
Liverpool have won five, drawn one and lost four against Crystal Palace in their last ten meetings. Not a land slide for Liverpool by any stretch and they do tend to struggle. Earlier on in the season, it took Liverpool a good while to break the deadlock as they managed to win 1-0 at Anfield with a 73rd minute goal from Sadio Mane. Last season, Liverpool took the lead but ended up losing 1-2 at Anfield and at Selhurst Park managed to win 2-4, not before being pegged back twice when getting ahead. The 15/16 season saw Liverpool score a last minute penalty to take all three points at Selhurst Park but again were beaten at Anfield 1-2. Crystal Palace seem to always raise their game against the Reds.
The Trends
Ever since Crystal Palace got themselves back into the Premier League (13/14), after spending eight consecutive seasons in the Championship, there have always been goals at Selhurst Park when these two sides have met. Previous meetings have seen 2-4, 1-2, 1-2 3-1 and 3-3. Both teams have scored in nine of the ten meetings since 2013. I am expecting more of the same here.
Embed from Getty ImagesTeam News
Crystal Palace are without Conor Wickham (groin), James Tomkins, Jeffrey Schlupp and Alexander Sorloth. Additionally, Wilfried Zaha is a major doubt although not completely ruled out. This is a big one for Crystal Palace as he is their catalyst and has been for some time now. Strugglish at the back, I am personally unsure who partners Sakho as it could be Kelly or Fosu-Mensah. In the midfled, we could also see Cabaye in place of Loftus-Cheek.
Liverpool are without Emre Can (back) and Joe Gomez (ankle) for the trip to Selhurst Park but Nathaniel Clyne is finally back in contention, although I don’t believe he’s ready for his first start just yet. Robertson attended training at Melwood on Thursday despite limping off for Scotland on Tuesday night. I have my doubts whether it will be Matip or Lovren to partner Van Dijk, and whether Wijnaldum or Oxlade-Chamberlain take the reigns in the centre of Liverpool’s midfield.
Ones to Watch
Liverpool are not great with early kick-offs it has to be noted. Under Klopp, Liverpool have played 22 early kick off games and managed to win just seven, drawing six and losing nine. That is a win rate of 31.8 percent. Under Klopp, Liverpool have a win rate of 52.5 percent which in turn is considerably higher than the early kick off percentage. Definitely something to look out for here.
Embed from Getty ImagesMo Salah sits on 28 league goals and should soon become the first Liverpool player to beat 30+ goals which was set by Luis Suarez in the 13/14 season.
Key Battle
Christian Benteke against his former club and up against Van Dijk no doubt is a key battle of strength. Roy Hogdson is also pitted against a former club too. Both have points to prove although the main battle, in my opinion, will be Wilfried Zaha against the young and upcoming Alexander-Arnold, or even the returning Nathaniel Clyne. This will be a key battle for sure and if Zaha plays, it will make the game a much more entertaining prospect, especially for Crystal Palace fans.
Predicted starting XI’s
Liverpool predicted XI:
Karius, Trent, Van Dijk, Lovren, Robertson, Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Mane, Firmino, Salah
Crystal Palace predicted XI:
Hennessey, Wan-Bissaka,Fosu-Mensah, Sakho, Van Aanholt, Townsend, Milivojevic, McArthur, Loftus-Cheek, Zaha, Benteke
Score Prediction
As mentioned in “The Trends” section of this article, I expect nothing less than goals in this one. We know Liverpool have their moments at the back but we also know they can be ruthless in front of goal. 1-3 or 1-2, probably the latter with Salah, Benteke and Mane all on the scoresheet.
Written by George Pavlou.
27, supporting LFC for the entirety! Season ticket holder and views are my own for 90MAAT. @Pavlou_George
