MY ACCOUNT
– Crystal Palace have avoided defeat in six of their last eight home league games
– Liverpool have failed to win eight of their 11 away league games so far this season
– Recommended Bet: Double Chance – Crystal Palace or Tie
Crystal Palace’s quest for a first league victory of 2023 continues on Saturday night when they play host to Liverpool at Selhurst Park.
Patrick Vieira looked crestfallen after Brentford scored a stoppage-time leveller with the penultimate touch of the game to deny his Eagles side all three points last weekend.
The Frenchman had pinpointed a need for ruthlessness before the trip to Gtech Community Stadium and felt his side had made some wrong decisions in managing the game against the Bees.
Jurgen Klopp will want to see a reaction to Liverpool’s chastening 5-2 Champions League loss to Real Madrid when he sends his team out on a ground where the Reds have won on their last eight visits.
Team news
Tyrick Mitchell limped off at Brentford, but the ankle knock he sustained is not thought to be serious enough to keep the left-back out of Saturday’s clash.
Vieira could restore Eberechi Eze to his starting line-up after he scored as a substitute with Jeffrey Schlupp looking like the clear candidate to be stood down.
Jean-Philippe Mateta and Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga are others who could face the axe with Odsonne Edouard and Will Hughes hoping for recalls.
Wilfried Zaha, Sam Johnstone and Nathan Ferguson are still sidelined for Palace, who must also assess the fitness of Joel Ward (calf), but James Tomkins could be back after missing out at Brentford because of a personal issue.
Several Liverpool changes are expected with Joe Gomez, Fabinho and Cody Gakpo all in the firing line after under-par displays in midweek.
Klopp spoke of some unnamed players carrying knocks at his Friday press conference, but that could be a convenient excuse to wield the axe.
Joel Matip looks likely to return alongside Virgil van Dijk in central defence with Ibrahima Konate not yet available.
Naby Keita, Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliott are pushing for recalls while there is a good chance that one or both of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino get the nod in attack.
Thiago Alcantara, Calvin Ramsay, Luis Diaz and Arthur look set to miss out once more with their respective injury problems.
The stats
Since the start of 2020-21, Michael Olise has the most assists of any player currently aged 21 or under in the top four tiers of English league football (22).
No team has won more Premier League games when conceding the first goal than Palace this season (four).
However, Liverpool are the only side with a 100% win rate when scoring first in the competition this term (eight out of eight).
Gakpo has scored in his past two Premier League appearances, with both of his strikes making the score 2-0 to Liverpool.
No player has scored in three consecutive games for the Reds this season.
Prediction
Liverpool’s mini-revival was brought to a crashing halt on Tuesday as Klopp’s midfield could not sustain the intensity that had laid the foundations for their early two-goal blast, exposing a shaky defence at Anfield.
Palace cannot match the quality in midfield and attacking areas that Real Madrid have in abundance, but they could still cause the Reds plenty of problems if the intensity drops off again.
In Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze, the Eagles will have two of the most creative midfielders on the pitch and they should generate openings.
Edouard is converting almost 9% of his shots this season and will carry a threat, if selected, while Palace will also look to exploit set-piece situations.
The Reds’ recent away record is ropey as even the 2-0 win at Newcastle last weekend that ended a three-game losing sequence was not particularly convincing against 10 men.
Palace have avoided defeat in six of their last eight home Premier League games, so remain hard to beat despite their goalscoring struggles.
Back Double Chance Crystal Palace or Tie at 23/20 with LiveScore Bet.
