After what felt like two points dropped on Tuesday evening against Sunderland, the Eagles welcome a Liverpool side to South London who were quickly able to hand out revenge for the League Cup final defeat with a big win over Manchester City.
The search for a first league win in 2016 continues so no better fixture to head into than Liverpool. Palace have had the upper hand over the red half of Merseyside since returning to the top flight much to Liverpool fans dismay. However, the visiting side are still very much a team in transition but still have eyes on a top four finish and a place in the next round of the Europa League.
Palace return to Selhurst Park after three away games in a row, two of which were in the league with only a point to show from them. Alan Pardew will be hoping for his side to continue the recent signs of improvement in an effort to finally grab a much needed league win which will do wonders for the confidence.
There will be one eye on the FA Cup semi-final next Friday but the job at hand is getting something from this league fixture which will certainly not be easy. In contrast, the Reds have a European date with Manchester United on Thursday which could cause some distraction.
Team News
Crystal Palace – James McArthur (ankle), Jason Puncheon (hamstring) and Kwesi Appiah (knee) continue to miss out while the only other injury concern is Connor Wickham who took a knock in midweek.
Liverpool – Danny Ings (knee), Lucas Leiva (knee) and Joe Gomez (knee) are not available while Mamadou Sakho (head) is doubtful after a clash of heads with one of his own players at Wembley.
Action Replay
In the last meeting between the two Palace travelled to Anfield last November and returned with a 2-1 win. Unpredictable winger Yannick Bolasie scored the opener only for Philippe Coutinho to bring the game back level right before the break. The winner was a late header scored by Scott Dann much to Liverpool fans dismay.
The match up before then was once again at Anfield towards the end of last season where Palace ruined the Steven Gerrard leaving party. Adam Lallana kicked off celebrations for the hosts with a goal after a defensive mix up but there was nothing to worry about as Jason Puncheon levelled things up just before the break. Wilfried Zaha scored the second and Glenn Murray wrapped things up late on.
Form Guide
In the last six games between the two sides, Palace have the upper hand with three wins to Liverpool’s two and one draw which was the game famously dubbed ‘Crystanbul’. In games at Selhurst there have been three in the last six meetings with one win each and the one draw.
In the Premier League, current form favours the visitors who have three wins and one draw in the last six games while Palace have achieved just two draws.
Form Players (courtesy of Who Scored)
Philippe Coutinho (7.27), Yohan Cabaye (7.25), James Milner (7.24), Roberto Firmino (7.24), Yannick Bolasie (7.13)
One To Watch
Roberto Firmino
With an average Who Scored rating of 7.24, the Brazilian has started to show why Liverpool shelled out £29 million to bring him to Anfield from German outfit 1899 Hoffenheim. In twenty-two appearances he has scored six goals following the stint in Germany that saw him play 140 times scoring 38 goals. He began his career at CRB in Brazil before signing for Figueirense in 2008 and has eleven full international caps, scoring four goals.
Predictions
Final league position – 5th
It has been a very unpredictable season for Liverpool so far as it has been very hard to tell which team is going to turn up. Recent form suggests that there is a resurgence going on at Anfield as they sit just six points off fourth place in the Premier League and have an all English European tie to look forward to. Depending what happens there could determine whether the Reds make a run for the top four but they are likely to just miss out.
- TEB prediction – draw
- Scott Taylor’s prediction (see link below) – draw
- Who Scored prediction – draw
Betting Odds (courtesy of Paddy Power)
- Home 27/10
- Draw 12/5
- Away 21/20
