Old Trafford proved once again to be a place of despair for Palace.
After a brave performance from the South London outfit, it proved worthless as Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United took all three points. A cruel deflection from a Juan Mata strike was enough to seal victory for the home side. Palace were unable to find a way back into the game.
Palace fans are beginning to grow frustrated at the lack of points coming the Eagles’ way and understandably so. They have not won a game since September and are currently in a trend that has seen Neil Warnock’s side lose four and draw one of their last five after a bright start to the season. Seventeenth place is where Palace find themselves and after a tough run of games that will end with a visit from Liverpool, the Merseyside club have somewhat of a score to settle.
Selhurst Park played host to what was voted the game of the season by Sky Sports in the summer as the boys from SE25 single handedly derailed Liverpool’s title challenge after what is one of the greatest comebacks in Premier League history.
Down by three goals at half time, it seemed that the Kop faithful were to finally have their dream of seeing club legend Steven Gerrard lift the Premier League trophy for the first time especially after ousting Manchester City in their previous fixture. The result looked all but written and the champions elect needed simply to beat the Eagles. Enter stage left, young striker Dwight Gayle. Did you know he was only playing non-league football a few seasons ago?
The former Stanstead Football Club youngster capitalised on some poor defending from Liverpool, scoring twice in quick succession after Damien Delaney had given Palace a ray of hope, crushing Liverpool spirits in the process.
In the wake of their title failure from last season Liverpool are not in great form this season, They travel to Selhurst Park after a run of games that has seen them lose their last three games in all competitions. Losing top scorer Luis Suarez to Barcelona in the summer looks to be affecting them more than under pressure boss Brendan Rodgers is willing to let on.
The Liverpool manager spent all of the transfer proceeds from the sale of Suarez with the addition of nine new players into the club with big money moves for Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic, Dejan Lovren and Mario Balotelli. The spending topped a whopping £116 million.
Team News
Crystal Palace – Mile Jedinak will return to the starting line up after serving his one match ban after being sent off against Sunderland. Loan winger Wilfried Zaha is also once again eligible to play after being unable to feature against his parent club Manchester United. Yannick Bolasie may be rested after a long round the world trip on international duty with DR Congo. Neil Warnock may favour a reshuffle of his side to help buck the poor trend in form.
Liverpool – Daniel Sturridge will not be available for selection after another injury setback since his original hamstring strain on England duty. The Anfield favourite has missed the last fourteen games for the reds. Struggling Italian striker Mario Balotelli will also miss this one which will not help ease pressure on himself and under fire manager Brendan Rodgers. Jordan Henderson is also struggling with a hamstring strain while Mamadou Sakho may return to ease defensive worries amidst rumours that Dejan Lovren is unlikely to feature in this fixture.
Analysis and Predictions
Prediction for Liverpool – 8th
Their main fear this season has certainly come to fruition already, the loss of Uruguayan striker and former talisman Luis Suarez to catalan giants Barcelona. And with that, Liverpool’s goals have dried up which has not helped by the absence of Daniel Sturridge. Pressure has been heavy on Mario Balotelli who brought a lot of promise with him after his £16m move from AC Milan. He along with eight other players were brought in have failed to make an impact which has seriously dented their title aspirations so early on in the season.
Brendan Rodgers has worked miracles at Liverpool since his arrival three years ago but adding Champions League football to the fixture list may well cause them more harm than good. Without a fully fit squad, many key players will find themselves fatigued before Christmas especially those who are used to a Christmas break. However, should some the youngster players such as Alberto Moreno and Emre Can begin to show what they can do, it may just take another season of transition before Liverpool can truly compete with the big boys on all fronts again.
EPL Index prediction – away win
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson prediction – away win
Who Scored prediction – away win
My prediction – home win
