The Reds squeaked past Bologna 2-0 in midweek despite a few nervy moments whereas Crystal Palace fell to their first defeat of the Premier League season last weekend against Everton.
Match Preview
Liverpool
Liverpool are making history under manager new Arne Slot Among them, Slot is the only Reds boss with eight wins from his opening nine matches in all competitions. They produced a good display to see off Bologna thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah.
The former Feyenoord boss conceded that Liverpool were in for a fight against the plucky Rossoblu just as they were in last weekend’s Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers, but who eventually ran out 2-1 victors to go top of the table.
A win on Saturday lunchtime would see Liverpool go four points clear of both Arsenal and Manchester City at the pinnacle, but Slot’s men have lost just one of thier man matche, winning all five last time out and netting 15 goals at a rate of three per game.
The visitors have not won their first four matches of a Premier League season since their title-winning 2019-20 campaign, and Slot has a golden opportunity of becoming only the fourth manager in history of the competition, alongside Felipe Scolari, John Gregory, and Bobby Gould, to win their first four away fixtures.
On the topic of managers making huge in-roads upon their return to the Premier League, Crystal Palace was, last season, a reenergised team under Europa League-winning boss Oliver Glasner, but the Eagles appear to have been clipped on the wings over the summer.
Palace thought they could capitalize on a trip to Everton, themselves winless so far, to finally get their season off the ground; Marc Guehi allayed those hopes with his opener in the 10th minute, but Dwight McNeil scored a quickfire second-half brace to change things dramatically.
Despite the Eagles occupying a lowly 18th on the Premier League table, in the wake of Leicester City based on goals scored, Glasner’s job is not considered in immediate danger, thanks to his capital of credit from the last season, not to mention EFL Cup beatings of Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers.
But Palace has bad omens looking over their shoulders: only four times has a side had to go seven games without a win to start a Premier League season, and relegation followed on three occasions, the last such incident being in 2004-05.
If Selhurst Park faithful could find any glimmer of hope, it’s the surprise 1-0 triumph in the April Premier League encounter at Anfield; Liverpool have, however, not been defeated on Crystal Palace’s turf since November 2014-Relegation from the top flight in 2004-05.
While the Eagles can spring a surprise every now and again at Anfield, they rarely manage to hoodwink Liverpool on their own turf, having conceded a whopping 38 times against the Reds-the highest against a single opponent in the Premier League.
This number should reach 40 on Saturday even if Slot’s men show some fatigue, as even should things come to a rest, he’ll have a lot of options to replace if he wants, and he’ll probably be celebrating going four points clear at thr final whistle.
Possible Crystal Palace starting lineup:
Henderson; Lerma, Guehi, Lacroix; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Nketiah, Mateta, Eze
Possible Liverpool starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota
