Liverpool enter the weekend fixture against Crystal Palace in fifth place in the Premier League, five points ahead of sixth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion and holding a game in hand. A victory at Anfield would stretch that advantage to eight points with four matches remaining, and could also bring both Manchester United and Aston Villa — who occupy positions above the Reds — into closer range.
Arne Slot’s side have won back-to-back Premier League matches since suffering defeat to Brighton before the March international break, steadily consolidating their top-five position. Chelsea‘s recent poor run of results has further eased the pressure on Liverpool, with the Reds potentially just two positive results away from securing Champions League football for next season.
Crystal Palace arrive at Anfield with a Conference League semi-final first leg against Shakhtar Donetsk looming just five days later, a match that will see them travel to Poland. Despite that European distraction, Oliver Glasner’s side sit 13th in the table with a game in hand over the clubs immediately around them, and have shown they are capable of managing domestic and continental commitments simultaneously.
Palace endured a damaging 12-game winless run between December 14 and February 1, but have since recovered to record seven wins from their last 14 fixtures across all competitions. In the Premier League specifically, they have gone four matches unbeaten since a narrow defeat to Manchester United in March.
The head-to-head record underlines the challenge facing Liverpool. The Reds have gone four games without a win against Crystal Palace and are winless in their last three Premier League home fixtures against the Eagles — drawing twice and losing once — after previously winning five consecutive Anfield meetings against them. Crystal Palace secured a 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park in September, and are now seeking to complete a league double over Liverpool for only the third time in history, following the 1991-92 and 2014-15 seasons.
On the team news front, goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is unavailable after sustaining a knee injury during the Merseyside derby against Everton, which forced him off at half-time. His absence is expected to hand Freddie Woodman his first full Premier League start for the club. Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, and Giovanni Leoni remain long-term absentees, while Joe Gomez’s availability is uncertain due to a muscular problem.
For Crystal Palace, Glasner has indicated he expects Adam Wharton to return after the midfielder missed the goalless draw with West Ham through injury. Eddie Nketiah has been ruled out for the rest of the season, with Evan Guessand and Cheick Doucoure also reportedly set to miss out. Having rotated his squad on Monday, Glasner is expected to restore Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr to the starting line-up. Sarr has scored in each of his last four appearances against Liverpool across all competitions, making him a particular threat to the hosts.
The predicted starting lineups are as follows — Liverpool: Woodman; Jones, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak. Crystal Palace: Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Lacroix; Munoz, Hughes, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Johnson; Mateta.
Despite Palace’s strong recent record against them, the contrasting priorities of the two clubs at this stage of the season could prove significant. Liverpool require maximum points to maintain pressure in the top-five race, while Palace’s attention is inevitably drifting toward their European semi-final. The predicted outcome is a 2-1 home victory for Liverpool.
