Crystal Palace travel to Anfield on Saturday (April 25th) and face Liverpool, looking to do a double over the Reds. Oliver Glasner’s men sealed a last-gasp 2-1 win when the two teams met at Selhurst Park in September.
Eddie Nketiah scored a 90+7th-minute winner on that day to hand Arne Slot’s defending champions their first defeat of the season. It wounded the Merseysiders, who lost their next three games and ultimately fell out of the title picture.
Palace still have a chance of securing European qualification via their league finish despite a frustrating 0-0 draw against West Ham United on Monday. They sit 13th, six points behind seventh-placed Bournemouth ahead of Saturday’s game.
The pressure will be on Liverpool to pick up another victory as they look to finish in the top five and seal Champions League football next season. Slot’s men secured a much-needed 2-1 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby last time out.
Neville and Keane Predict Liverpool Beat Palace
Gary Neville and Roy Keane both feel the Reds will prevail at Anfield after giving their score predictions for the game. Speaking on The Overlap, Neville backed a 2-0 home win while Keane and Ian Wright went with a 2-1 victory, and clearly neither feel Glasner will keep up his impressive record.
Glasner has come up against Liverpool six times since arriving at Palace, and he’s won four of those games. He has yet to be handed a defeat at Anfield, a remarkable statistic that speaks volumes about his success with the Eagles.
The Austrian will be eager to end his reign with yet another major trophy and his side are through to the semi-finals of the Conference League. They face Shakhtar Donetsk, with the first leg at Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium in Poland next Thursday (April 30th).
Liverpool Without Alisson Becker
If Liverpool are to beat Palace on Saturday they will have to do so without Alisson Becker. Slot’s number one is set to miss the game with a knee injury which is a major nuisance for the Reds.
Alisson remains one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, and his side has missed him when absent this season. The Brazilian has proven vital throughout his spell at Anfield and Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate feel more at ease with him between the sticks.
Instead, it will be Giorgi Mamardashvili who is tasked with keeping the Eagles’ attackers at bay. The Georgian has had a topsy-turvy start to life in the Premier League and could be a weakness if the likes of Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta are at their best.
