Crystal Palace vs Liverpool

Liverpool’s desperate efforts to dethrone Manchester City continue this weekend as they head to Selhurst Park to tackle Crystal Palace in a must-win Premier League fixture.

Crystal Palace’s indifferent form in their last six Premier League matches (W2, D2, L2) probably the best illustrates their mid-table struggle. The ‘Eagles’ have gone winless in both league games since the calendar flipped to 2022 (D1, L1), conceding first-half penalties on each occasion. Before falling to a 3-2 defeat to West Ham United on New Year’s Day, Patrick Vieira’s men were unbeaten in three consecutive league outings on home turf (W2, D1). That’s the kind of form they will be looking to call upon when they take on a Liverpool side they’ve lost to in each of their last nine top-flight H2Hs. There’s another good omen here, as the Londoners have won two of their previous three Premier League match-ups with sides starting the day in the top three of the standings (L1).

In the meantime, Liverpool have enjoyed a decent start to the new calendar year, going unbeaten in all five competitive matches of 2022 so far (W3, D2), including a scintillating 3-0 romping of Brentford last time out. Sitting 12 points adrift of pacesetters Manchester City, with a game in hand, the ‘Reds’ can ill-afford a slip-up in the nation’s capital, where they have gone winless in their last four Premier League fixtures (D3, L1). Despite Virgil van Dijk’s return to the fold, Jurgen Klopp’s men have struggled defensively on the road, keeping just one clean sheet in their last six Premier League travels. However, the Merseyside heavyweights have won each of their previous six Premier League away meetings with Palace by an aggregate score of 19-5, including a 7-0 drubbing in their most recent top-flight H2H at Selhurst Park.