Liverpool – Crystal Palace (Premier League)
Liverpool and Crystal Palace face each other this Sunday, at Anfield Stadium (Liverpool). This is a match of Premier League´s 34th round. Crystal Palace switched into survival mode will be a challenge for Liverpool. Klopp says his team will face one of the best lines of attack in the Premier League, a particularly lethal threat in the air. Christian Benteke, an old acquaintance of the Reds, has been a key player in this revival of the Eagles under Sam Allardyce.
Liverpool sit 3rd place in the Premier League table with 66 points, that come from 19 wins, 9 draws and 5 defeats, with 69 goals scored and 40 conceded in the process. Which means they have a positive balance of 29 goals. At home, so far, the team has played 16 matches: won 11, drew 4 and lost 1, that is, they have been presenting really good results: dangerous in attack and strong in defense. This means that their offensive and defensive form have been very effective. Liverpool arrive here after two away wins against West Brom (0-1) and Stoke City (1-2).
Adam Lallana has already started to step on the pitch but in specific preparation. It will take at least another week before he joins the group. Firmino trained alone, as a precaution. Joel Matip, Lucas Leiva and Ragnar Klavan also have muscle injuries and are being reevaluated. The defenses are unlikely to be fit to play on Sunday. The German coach referred specifically the use of Joe Gomez.
Probable Lineup: Mignolet – Clyne, Lovren, Joe Gomez, Millner – Wijnaldum, Leiva, Can – Firmino, Origi, Coutinho.
Crystal Palace have lost only one of the last seven Premier League matches, during which they surprisingly won over Chelsea (1-2) and Arsenal (3-0). Last Saturday at Selhurst Park, they were losing by 2 with Leicester City, but managed to tie the match and win a point.
Crystal Palace are 15th place in the Premier League table with 35 points, that come from 10 wins, 5 draws and 17 defeats, with 44 goals scored and 52 conceded in the process. With only one defeat in the last 7 matches, Crystal Palace moved up to 15th position, 7 behind the relegation zone, despite having played one fewer match than their direct competitors. But the Eagles’ schedule is the worst – after Liverpool the face the Spurs at Selhurst Park – and they can’t take their foot off the accelerator.
Loic Remy, James McArthur and Jeffrey Schlupp are back in action after injury. Good news. Connor Wickham, Scott Dann and Pape Souare are still delivered to the medical department. Sakho is out.
Probable Lineup: Hennessey – Ward, Kelly, Tomkins, Aanholt – Cabaye, Milivojevic – Zaha, Pucheon, Townsend – Benteke.
The last five matches between Liverpool and Crystal Palace were won by the visiting team. When they faced each other in October, six goals were scored.
