Liverpool’s second game of the 2018/19 Premier League campaign takes place at Selhurst Park, as the Reds travel to South London to take on Crystal Palace, managed by former Liverpool and England boss Roy Hodgson.
The embryonic league table has these two sides in the top 4 after the opening round of fixtures, with Liverpool recording a superb 4-0 win over West Ham, while Palace defeated Fulham 2-0 at Craven Cottage in a hard-fought victory. Palace finished 11th last season, with Hodgson overseeing an astonishing turnaround after losing their first seven games without scoring. Palace’s summer acquisitions included Cheikou Kouyate from London rivals West Ham, Jordan Ayew on loan from Swansea, and the impressive capture of German midfielder Max Meyer on a free transfer.
This is the second year in a row that Liverpool have met Crystal Palace on matchday two of the season, with Sadio Mane netting a winner at Anfield in August last year. Say ‘Selhurst Park’ to any Liverpool fan and the words will evoke fear and bad memories – though you may be surprised to learn that the Reds have won on their last four visits to Palace, a run stretching back to March 2015 in the FA Cup. The notion that Liverpool have a bad record against Palace is born out of the infamous 3-3 draw on a Monday night in May 2014, when Liverpool threw away a three-goal lead on the penultimate game of the season, to return to the top of the league. This will be the first time the two sides have met on a Monday since that awful evening, but since a 3-1 defeat in the November of that calendar year at the same stadium, Liverpool have won on every visit since. Perhaps the belief that Liverpool have a bad record here is carried on by the fact that Liverpool have conceded first and been behind in three of the four subsequent wins, with the other being a frenetic and chaotic 4-2 victory in October 2016. Last season, Liverpool did the double over Palace, with a 2-1 win away from home in March – with goals from Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah overturning a half time deficit after Luka Milivojevic had converted an early penalty, following an incident with Wilfried Zaha and Loris Karius. Interestingly, the three aforementioned wins from behind were all by the score of 2-1, all with Liverpool trailing 1-0 at half time. Liverpool have a few players in their ranks who have bagged for the Reds away at Palace, with Salah and Mane in March, Lovren and Matip in October 2016, a game Firmino scored in, as well as his leveller in March 2016, a game which was won for Liverpool by now-Palace striker Christian Benteke. Daniel Sturridge has scored twice here for Liverpool, in May 2014 and March 2015, a game Adam Lallana also notched in. To conclude the point about Liverpool’s record at Selhurst Park – we have played very poorly there many times, but in the last four times, we’ve managed to come away with wins in spite of this. Hopefully Monday yields both performance and result as the Reds aim to start a season with two wins for the first time since 2015.
After such a superb performance to kick the season off last weekend, Jurgen Klopp may opt to stick with the same team that demolished West Ham. Alisson Becker had a bright start last week and will keep his place in goal. One of few selection headaches for Klopp may be at right back, where Trent Alexander-Arnold experienced a struggling performance last week, and Klopp could opt to utilise the defensive solidity of Nathaniel Clyne, especially to counteract the width Zaha can provide. Having said that, if Zaha plays central as he did at Craven Cottage, it may be down to the centre backs to deal with him. Another area of question will be the right sided centre back – Joe Gomez did a great job last week, but with the return to fitness of Joel Matip, there is a decision to be made there. Personally, I think Gomez will retain his place, and he could be a better option to deal with the pace Palace possess, as he is quicker off the line than Matip. Andy Robertson is almost a dead cert at left back, but there are some difficult decisions to make in the midfield areas. So many team selections this season are going to be dependent on the type of opposition we are facing, and we are blessed with a good number of different options for different circumstances – horses for courses, if you will. Many were surprised that Fabinho didn’t play last week, and I expect him to start on Monday in the number six role. Coming up against a physical midfield in a 4-4-2 system could suit him, and I think for the away games he will be a key fixture. Naby Keita was sensational last week and will surely keep his place in the box-to-box role, which leaves one more space. Gini Wijnaldum was similarly influential last week in a slightly deeper role, but I think he could miss out to James Milner here, as Wijnaldum is less effective away from home and out of possession, whereas Milner’s energy and positional awareness could be key to thwarting Palace attacks. Jordan Henderson may get his first start of the season, which could be as a 6 or an 8, depending on if Klopp opts for a single or double pivot. Xherdan Shaqiri and Adam Lallana are likely to be on the bench here, but are good options if needed. The front three will probably be unchanged, though Daniel Sturridge is really pushing to start.
Crystal Palace’s preferred system is a fluid 4-4-2, with star man Wilfried Zaha playing off Christian Benteke, allowing the former Liverpool striker to use his physical strength and hold up play to aid Zaha’s pacey runs in behind. Palace signed experienced goalkeeper Vicente Guaita from Getafe in the summer, but it appears Wayne Hennessey is still the number one. 20-year old Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been a revelation at right back since coming into the team last season and is emerging himelf as a fans favourite in South London. Previously, Joel Ward was the undisputed right back at Selhurst Park, but the former Portsmouth defender is having to make do with a place on the bench at the minute. The centre back partnership of James Tomkins and former red Mamadou Sakho has been very successful for Palace and is the bedrock of the Eagles’ defensive solidity. Remarkably, in the fourteen games that Sakho and Tomkins have started together, Palace have not yet lost. When Palace signed Jairo Riedewald, I thought he would be a major player for them, but at the minute, Sakho and Tomkins are indispensable. At left back, former Sunderland man Patrick Van Aanholt is likely to start, a player I have always admired and one who can cause us many problems as an attacking threat. Pape Souare was first choice before his tragic accident a few years ago, as a football fan it is great to see Souare back fit, healthy and in action again. Moving into midfield, Max Meyer and Cheikou Kouyate will likely have to wait for their first starts, as captain Luka Milivojevic and the influential James McCarthur will keep their places in the centre of midfield. Andros Townsend is a player who seems to have finally found a club that get the best out of him, while last week’s scorer Jeffrey Schlupp (who is only 25?!?!?) will operate on the other flank, in a more attacking role than he took at Leicester. Palace’s deadly duo is Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha, who work well together, combining pace and physicality to form a strong partnership which Liverpool need to be wary of.
This will almost certainly be a tougher test than Liverpool faced last week. Palace are a team on the up under Roy Hodgson and possess a few ex-Liverpool players who will want to prove a point to the manager who let them go. I do think a lot of this game will be defined by the midfield battle and how much Liverpool are allowed to dictate play. Palace only had 34% possession against Fulham last week, and so Klopp’s men can expect to have a lot of the ball. While a good start is desirable, the recent comeback wins on this ground prove that it is not imperative. Liverpool’s attacking players face up against a quick pair of full-backs, and wingers that offer defensive work rate, so don’t be surprised to see a lot of central, vertical passing from Liverpool, to try and exploit the lack of pace that Palace’s central players possess, which they make up for in work rate and positional awareness. Don’t be too surprised to see Palace utilise the ball over the top, a strategy which we struggled with a bit last week, and a tactic which they used to great effect in the meeting in March, when Trent Alexander-Arnold was caught out a few times early on, which in turn led to the Palace penalty and goal. With the combination of Zaha’s pace and Benteke’s height and physicality, this is something we should look out for. Liverpool should win this game with the attacking talent available, but they face a difficult challenge and will need to defend well as a unit to prevent Palace’s obvious scoring threats.
Predicted XIs
Crystal Palace: (4-4-2) Hennessey; Wan-Bissaka, Tomkins, Sakho, Van Aanholt; Townsend, Milivojevic, McArthur, Schlupp; Zaha, Benteke.
Subs: Guaita, Ward, Riedewald, Souare, Kouyate, Meyer, Sorloth.
Liverpool: (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Milner, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Karius, Clyne, Matip, Henderson, Lallana, Shaqiri, Sturridge.
Score Prediction
Crystal Palace 1-3 Liverpool
Daniel Daykin
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