Crystal Palace v Liverpool predictions, expected line-ups, how to watch and stats
Crystal Palace and Liverpool will be aiming to keep their unbeaten records intact when the two sides meet on Saturday afternoon.
Liverpool have seven wins under their belt in all competitions and already appear to be rumbling towards successfully defending their Premier League title.
Thankfully the Reds’ tedious habit of grabbing the winning goal in the last ten minutes was halted in the Merseyside derby. But they were back at it against Southampton in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, with Hugo Ekitike netting the winner in the 85th minute, and then foolishly getting a second yellow for taking his shirt off.
Ekitike will now miss the Palace match and that clears a path for Isak, who broke his Liverpool duck against the Saints, to start against the Eagles.
Fifth-placed Palace are a bit of a thorn in Liverpool’s side. They’ve already beaten them in the Community Shield on penalties, and drew with them in their last meeting back in May. Mo Salah levelling the scores in the last ten minutes of course.
The Eagles don’t have the greatest record against Liverpool, with nine wins and a draw from their last ten visits to south-east London, but manager Olivier Glasner has made them much tougher to beat and he has one win, two draws and a defeat from his four games against the champions.
This won’t be a walk in the park for Liverpool, and it certainly has the whiff of a draw about it. At least they’ll both come away still unbeaten.
Crystal Palace team news
Palace still have doubts over the fitness of Ismaila Sarr, who hasn’t played since the end of August, and Yeremi Pino who went off against West Ham.
Both could feature against Liverpool, but Pino’s knee injury was less concerning and he’s been training this week.
Caleb Kporha (back), Eddie Nketiah (hamstring), Cheick Doucoure (knee) and Chadi Riad (ACL) will all miss the match.
Crystal Palace predicted line-up:
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1): Henderson – Lacroix, Guehi, Richards – Munoz, Mitchell, Hughes, Wharton, Kamada, Pino – Mateta, Kamada
Liverpool team news
Hugo Ekitike is suspended for Liverpool after getting a second yellow against Southampton. Alexander Isak is expected to start in his place.
Liverpool will still be without Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring), and he is now joined on the treatment table by Giovanni Leoni and Curtis Jones who were both injured in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton.
Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley are still injury doubts, but Virgil van Dijk should have recovered from an illness to return to the heart of the defence.
The players rested for the cup match are expected to return to the first-team, though Federico Chiesa, who was man-of-the-match against Southampton with two assists will be pushing for a starting place.
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Liverpool predicted line-up:
Liverpool (4-3-2-1): Alisson, Frimpong, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez – Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister – Salah, Gakpo – Isak
How to watch and listen
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool will be not be shown live in the UK.
Crystal Palace v Liverpool stats
– Both teams have scored in five of the past eight encounters between the two sides
– Liverpool have nine wins and a draw from their last 10 Premier League visits to Selhurst Park
– Palace have only conceded only twice in five league outings and three times in eight games overall since that Wembley match in August
– Five of the last six matches between the two sides have seen under 1.5 goals land
– Liverpool have conceded four in their five league games, with an xGA close to one a match
– Palace no defeat in nine
– Palace have drawn the most games in the Premier League
– Palace have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League and not conceded 2 or more goals this season
– Referee Chris Kavanagh averages 3.56 yellows per game this season
– Palace and Liverpool average 4.8 cards per game
– Ismaila Sarr has scored in his last two appearances against Liverpool
Crystal Palace v Liverpool predictions
Palace managed to hold on to their captain Marc Guehi on transfer deadline day and he marshals a mean defence that has already kept three clean sheets from five and has only conceded two goals in the Premier League all season.
Granted Liverpool’s attack is a different kettle of fish from the likes of Sunderland, Aston Villa, West Ham and Forest, but we still believe the Eagles at home can keep it tight.
Ignoring the Community Shield this fixture hasn’t been one for those looking for goals. Five of the last six matches between the two sides has seen under 1.5 goals land.
But there’s a lot more value in a 1-1 correct score, which has landed twice in the last six games. The last time they met in the league in May and again in August 2022.
The market that should also be studied is cards. This fixture averages 4.8 cards per game.
There were three in the Community Shield and another three in their last meeting in May, which included a red card for Ryan Gravenberch. In their other fixture last season six cards were dealt out.
This season Palace are joint third on the bad boys table with 13 cards this season, Liverpool aren’t far behind with 10.
If you want a final cherry on the top for this prediction, Chris Kavanagh refs this match and he is averaging 3.56 yellows per game this season.
