Crystal Palace v Liverpool

Crystal Palace v Liverpool: Vieira's Palace can carry attack to Liverpool

Andrew Atherley says the goal threat from the hosts has the potential to worry Liverpool...

Palace going with the flow

Crystal Palace got out of their grudge match at Brighton with a 1-1 draw last week and, while the hosts were the dominant side, the Eagles were pegged back only by a late own goal after Conor Gallagher had given them the lead in the 69th minute.

Gallagher, on loan from Chelsea, has been the standout player in a Palace side that has become more free-flowing and dangerous under Patrick Vieira. They have scored 30 goals this season (average 1.43 per game), which is only one short of their final total two seasons ago under Roy Hodgson (last season's final figure was 41).

Eberechi Eze has made his first two starts of the season in the last two games and Michael Olise is featuring more regularly, adding to a more attacking look.

That has helped to compensate for the absence of Wilfried Zaha, who has gone to the Africa Cup of Nations along with Cheikhou Kouyate and Jordan Ayew.

Liverpool roll on

Liverpool have been on a busy schedule but continued their positive start to 2022 by reaching the Carabao Cup final with a 2-0 win at Arsenal on Thursday night.

A break is coming now before February brings the FA Cup fourth round (home to Cardiff), the resumption of the Champions League and the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea, as well as their continuing efforts to reel in Premier League leaders Manchester City.

It has been a tough task without Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita, who are all at the Africa Cup of Nations, and in addition Thiago, Harvey Elliott, Nat Phillips and Divock Origi are all out with injury.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who starred in last weekend's 3-0 home win over Brentford, had to miss the Arsenal game with an ankle knock but could return here.

Entertaining match in prospect

Palace are earning plaudits for their style of play under Vieira but they have won only five of their 21 league games. On the flipside they have lost the same number (seven) as fourth-placed West Ham but have been held back by their high draw rate (nine, joint-second in the Premier League).

One of Palace's wins was against Manchester City (2-0 away) and another was against Tottenham (3-0 at home), which marks them out as a dangerous opponent on their day.

However, they were beaten 3-0 in the reverse fixture at Anfield, where they had only two shots on target. They were also outplayed for much of last week's match at Brighton, where they scored with their only shot on target, and will need to raise their game considerably here to pull off a shock result.

A positive is that Palace have lost only two out of 11 at home under Vieira (2-1 against Aston Villa and 3-2 against West Ham). However, they may need a clean sheet here to give them a winning chance and they have had only four of those at Selhurst Park.

Liverpool have a strong record against Palace, having won the last nine Premier League meetings. The last four have been by an aggregate of 16-0 and on the road Liverpool's winning streak stands at six, including a 7-0 victory in this fixture last season.

Their away record this season stands at W6 D3 L2 and one of the most impressive aspects is the 30 goals scored in those 11 matches at an average of 2.73 per game. The next highest away scorers going into this weekend are Manchester City with 22.

The two defeats were against West Ham (currently fourth) and Leicester (10th) and two of the draws were against Chelsea (third) and Tottenham (fifth), leaving the 3-3 at Brentford (14th) as Liverpool's only dropped points on the road against a bottom-half team.

Liverpool have scored at least two goals in nine of their 11 away league games (the exceptions being a 1-0 win at Wolves and the 1-0 defeat at Leicester) and they did it again without Salah and Mane in Thursday's 2-0 cup win at Arsenal. That record makes them hard to oppose and their win odds are 1.6.

Looking to increase the odds with options like a win to nil or a wide margin of victory comes with some risk, however, given that Palace have scored in all bar one of their 11 home games, including against West Ham, Tottenham and Leicester.

It is hard to see Liverpool failing to score and Palace might get on the board too, which could limit Klopp's side to a narrow win or even a draw.
Back both teams to score at 1.86.

Both teams in top six for goals

Liverpool top the Premier League for games with over 2.5 goals (76%) and Palace's changed emphasis on attack has put them in the top six (62%).

Palace's figure climbs slightly to 64% at home, while Liverpool's is up more markedly to 82%.

With those pointers to goals, it is no surprise over 2.5 goals is favourite at 1.78. Those odds seem more than fair.

Opta Stat

Crystal Palace have won two of their last three Premier League games against sides starting the day in the top three of the table (L1), beating Spurs 3-0 and Man City 2-0 this season. The Eagles had won just one of their previous 24 such games in the competition (D6 L17). Palace are 6.2 to win here.