download All Football App

Liverpool vs Palace: team news & preview

  /  autty

Jurgen Klopp's side return to Anfield for the first time since their 2-1 defeat at the Etihad on January 3, and are missing three key defenders

Liverpool will aim to stretch further ahead of Manchester City in the Premier League title race when they take on Crystal Palace at home on Saturday.

City do not play until Sunday when they travel to Huddersfield Town, so Liverpool can reclaim their seven point lead at the top until then at least.

Jurgen Klopp's side were not at their fluent best against Brighton last time out, only beating the Seagulls 1-0 at the Amex Stadium thanks to a second-half penalty from Mohamed Salah.

Squads & Team News

Jurgen Klopp's defensive headache received a fresh blow last week with the news that Trent Alexander-Arnold will be ruled out for up to four weeks with a knee injury.

The right-back joins Dejan Lovren (hamstring) and Joe Gomez (leg) in the treatment room.

That could mean James Milner returns to right-back at Anfield, while Joel Matip could return from a broken collarbone despite Fabinho's impressive performance at centre-back against Brighton.

In midfield, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana could miss out with minor knocks.

Possible Liverpool XI: Alisson; Milner, Van Dijk, Matip, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Shaqiri; Salah, Firmino, Mane.

Palace's two first-choice keepers, Vicente Guaita and Wayne Hennessey, both picked up injuries against Watford last weekend and will be assessed ahead of the trip to Anfield.

If neither are fit, 39-year-old Julian Speroni could get a run out in goal.

Christian Benteke could feature against his old club after returning from injury against the Hornets.

Possible Crystal Palace XI: Speroni; Wan-Bissaka, Tomkins, Sakho, van Aanholt; Kouyate, Millvojevic, McArthur; Townsend, Ayew, Zaha.

Betting & Match Odds

Liverpool are unsurprisingly heavy favourites at 1/6 with bet 365. Meanwhile, a draw is rated at 13/2 while Palace are 12/1 to pull off an upset.

Click here to see all of bet 365's offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.

Match Preview

Liverpool will be looking to lay down a marker when they take on Palace nearly 24 hours ahead of City's clash with Huddersfield.

The Reds recovered from back-to-back defeats - having lost to City and then been knocked out of the FA Cup by Wolves - by beating Brighton in what Klopp admitted was a difficult game.

Speaking after the match, Klopp said: "It was a really mature performance from my side. This season that is a new skill and we have to keep that.

"The second half was much better. We learned from the first half. So I like the performance.

"It's not an opera of football but it’s still a really nice song."

The Liverpool boss insisted the Reds' cannot rest on their laurels though and wants his team to stay focussed despite their lead at the top.

"It means nothing," he added. "We take all the points we can. We have 57 now – that's the situation and that's cool."

Palace will hope to stall that lead, and Roy Hodgson's side could be a tough test for the league leaders.

The Croydon-based club are still in a precarious position, just four points above the drop zone, and need to bounce back after a 2-1 home defeat to Watford in their last game.

Hodgson's men have been compact and hard to break down this term, having only conceded 28 times in 22 Premier League games, and Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend provide considerable pace in attack.