CRYSTAL PALACE VS. LIVERPOOL

Sunday, January 23rd |
Premier League | Selhurst Park
2PM GMT/9AM EST

Liverpool visit Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon coming off of two good victories against Brentford in the Premier League and Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. They’ll be without Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, and Naby Keita, who are still involved in the African Cup of Nations.

Crystal Palace remains firmly mid-table, having not yet notched their first league victory of 2022. They’ll have dark memories of the last time the Reds visited Selhurst Park and came away with seven goals and three points.

Diogo Jota scored a brace against Arsenal that booked Liverpool a ticket to the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.

While targeting another league trophy seems like a more difficult task with every passing game, Liverpool have to keep consistently taking three points from games like these. Currently they sit 11 points behind the leaders but with one game in hand. They have 17 games in which to close the gap, so every point is crucially important.

Though thought of as a bogey team for the Reds, Liverpool have nonetheless maintained an excellent record against the Eagles in recent years, culminating in their last 7-0 victory at Selhurst Park. No Reds’ fans would say no to a repeat of that scoreline, but any score will do, as long as Liverpool come away with all three points.

Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold; Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Jones; Jota, Firmino, Minamino

Aside from the African team members, other players who will be unavailable for Klopp include Thiago Alcantara, Divock Origi, Nat Phillips, and Harvey Elliott. There is some hope that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be fit enough to feature after going off last week against Brentford.

Joel Matip was taken off against Arsenal as a precaution in midweek, so we may see Ibrahima Konate in his place.

Crystal Palace have their own trio of African players who will be missed. These include Wilfried Zaha, Jordan Ayew, and Cheikhou Kouyate. James Tomkins and James McArthur are both still injured.

What the Managers Had to Say

Jürgen Klopp: “And yes, they changed and improved under Patrick, I have to say. They look like a really stable team now. I think system-wise didn’t change too much, 4-3-3 or whatever, but it’s a good team, a really good team.”

Patrick Vieira: “The team played well, responded well to the challenges. Both games were challenging in different ways and I think we had good moments in those games and we have to build our confidence and belief and keep improving.”

The Officials

Referee: Kevin Friend. Assistants: Adrian Holmes, Simon Beck. Fourth official: Andre Marriner. VAR: Craig Pawson. Assistant VAR: Simon Long.

Kickoff is set for 2PM GMT/9AM EST tomorrow. In the meantime, The Liverpool Offside team will keep you updated with all of the team news and match buildup as it becomes available, along with providing a matchday liveblog and post-match recaps and reaction. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account and have your say on the action as it happens.