CRYSTAL PALACE VS LIVERPOOL: PREVIEW

Liverpool return to Premier League action after sealing their place in the Carabao Cup final with a 2-0 win over Arsenal on Thursday. Crystal Palace are the opponents tomorrow as Selhurst Park awaits.  The Eagles haven’t played since a 1-1 draw at Brighton over a week ago. We preview the game.

Liverpool have won back to back games for the first time in a month to turn around their dithering form. Brentford and Arsenal have been beaten with clean sheets to boot. That’s now three consecutive clean sheets, the first time since November that the Reds have managed that feat.

This turnaround in form is just what was needed in the absence of Mané, Salah and Keita (due to AFCON) and Thiago and Origi (injury). It might have been easy for the team to feel sorry for themselves but they’ve fought hard to put together a couple of good results.

They will need to show similar fight tomorrow when they come up against Patrick Vieira’s impressive outfit. Palace lie 11th in the table and will be aiming for a top half finish. They’ve lost the same number of league games as West Ham (7) this season.

They have drawn one too many games, with their tally of 9 draws only surpassed by Brighton (11). If they can start turning some of those draws into wins they could make a late push for the Conference League places.

Patrick Vieira has transformed the playing style after taking over from Roy Hodgson in the summer. He has implemented a more expansive style of play with the likes of Andersen and Conor Gallagher proving key. They have been unlucky not to come away with maximum points in a number of games.

When Palace came to Anfield in September, they gave Jürgen Klopp’s side a stern test. Liverpool won the game 3-0 but the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story. Palace hit the woodwork twice in the opening minutes and were unlucky to go in at the break trailing after Mané opened the scoring just before halftime.

The second half was similarly tight, with Palace having chances to equalise through Edouard but Alisson Becker proved unbeatable on the day. Two late goals from Salah and Keita added further gloss to the scoreline in what was a very open game.

A similarity tight game can be expected here despite the Eagles not being in great form at the minute. They have managed just one win in their last five leagues matches, with that sole victory coming against an injury hit Norwich City after Christmas.

Liverpool hold an excellent record over Crystal Palace in recent times, incredibly winning each of their last nine league matches against the London side. That’s after winning just 3 of the previous 8 before that. Palace have gone from a bogey side to whipping boys.

Jürgen Klopp’s side have won on each of their last 7 trips to Selhurst Park in all competitions, romping to a 7-0 win last season on an afternoon of clinical efficiency. Palace will be glad Mané is unavailable as the Senegalese always scores against them.

Vieira’s side come into this game fresh, having not played since last Friday. Liverpool have played twice since Palace’s 1-1 draw at Brighton. They should therefore hold a slight advantage over a Liverpool side that looked exhausted late on against Arsenal.

The Reds are 12 points behind Manchester City after Pep’s side were held by Southampton today. It goes without saying another win in London is necessary to cut down the gap to 9 points with a game in hand.

Team News

For Liverpool, Oxlade-Chamberlain will be assessed before the game after he picked up an ankle complaint last week. Elliott isn’t ready after recently returning to training. Origi & Thiago remain out whilst Mané, Salah & Keita are all away at AFCON.

For Palace, James Tomkins and McArthur are out injured whilst Kouyaté and Wilfried Zaha are both away at AFCON. Jordan Ayew has returned to the club after a shock early exit at AFCON with Ghana. He has been declared available by Patrick Vieira.

Key Players

Trent Alexander-Arnold

The Scouser provided another brace of assists against Arsenal as he continues reinventing the right back role. He’s created the most chances (58) and provided the most assists (10) in the league this season and will be key if Liverpool are to claim victory tomorrow.

Conor Gallagher

The 21 year old Chelsea loanee has been one of the best signings of the season. He’s been the heartbeat of Vieira’s side and has been involved in 10 goals in 18 league matches this season (7 goals, 3 assists). He’s their topscorer so far and has also created 31 chances. One to keep an eye on.

Diogo Jota

The Portuguese international was back to his best on Thursday after a brief dry spell in front of goal. His brace settled the semi final tie and he’ll be looking to add to his tally of 10 league goals. He’s not netted in any of his last 3 league games, a run he’ll be bent on ending tomorrow.