Jürgen Klopp’s Premier League title chasers return to an expectant Anfield on Sunday. Look ahead with our Liverpool vs Crystal Palace prediction and preview.
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Stats: The Quick Hits
- Liverpool are the overwhelming favourites against Crystal Palace, winning 67.9% of pre-match simulations by the Opta supercomputer.
- Jürgen Klopp’s side are unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League games against Palace.
- Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored four goals in his last six league games, with his seven overall this season his best return in a single English top-flight campaign.
Match Preview
After another wobble at Manchester United and a 3-0 midweek UEFA Europa League defeat to Atalanta, Liverpool will be hoping to reignite their Premier League title charge when struggling Crystal Palace visit Anfield on Sunday.
Having been dumped out of the FA Cup quarter-finals by United last month, Jürgen Klopp’s side again suffered at Old Trafford after throwing away a one-goal lead before battling back to draw 2-2 last Sunday. Jarell Quansah’s wayward pass allowed Bruno Fernandes to cancel out Luis Díaz’s first-half opener, before Mohamed Salah’s late penalty salvaged a point after Kobbie Mainoo had curled past Caoimhín Kelleher.
Though it marked a missed opportunity before their Europa League quarter-final first-leg humbling against Atalanta, Liverpool have still won 27 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season. Only three teams – Newcastle United in 2001-02 (34), and Man Utd in both 2020-21 (31) and 2012-13 (29) – have managed more such points in a single campaign.
Partly due to that fightback ability, the Reds are second in the league table – behind Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on goal difference and one point clear of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City – heading into the weekend’s action.
While Klopp’s Reds have been accused of being wasteful in recent games, they’ve certainly not had any issue creating shooting opportunities, having attempted 629 shots in the Premier League this season, at least 70 more than any other team.
Liverpool’s average of 20.3 shots per game this term is also the third-highest on record (since 1997-98) in a single Premier League campaign, after Chelsea in 2009-10 (21.9) and 2008-09 (21). That total has been aided significantly by the chaotic Darwin Núñez, who has attempted a league-leading 100 efforts this term.
Indeed, the unpredictable Uruguayan is the first Liverpool player – other than Salah – to have recorded 100+ shots in a single campaign since Philippe Coutinho (106) and Roberto Firmino (100) did so in 2016-17. Klopp’s side have also been helped by overperformance at the back.
They have conceded around seven goals fewer than expected in the Premier League this season (30 conceded, 36.5 xG against), with only Manchester United having a bigger such difference in the competition this term (46 conceded, 58.2 xG against).
In stark contrast, Sunday’s visitors Palace have conceded almost 10 goals more than expected this top-flight campaign (54 goals conceded, 44.3 xG against) – only Sheffield United, who looked doomed to relegation, have a worse such differential.
Oliver Glasner’s side were 4-2 losers against Man City in their last outing despite starting and finishing the scoring through Jean-Philippe Mateta and Odsonne Édouard. Defeat left them 14th and just five points clear of the relegation zone heading into Matchweek 33.
Recent struggles for Glasner’s new team have not been helped by injury issues, with Sam Johnstone, Cheick Doucouré, Marc Guéhi, Rob Holding, Matheus França and Chris Richards all out, though youngster Jesurun Rak-Sakyi could return to Palace’s lineup on Sunday. Glasner said at his press conference on Friday that Michael Olise is “closer” to starting after he returned from injury from the bench against City last week.
Glasner may take some confidence from the form of Mateta, who has scored four goals in his last six league games, with his seven overall this season his best return in a single Premier League campaign. Having netted from the penalty spot in the reverse meeting with Klopp’s side, the Frenchman will hope to become the first Palace player since Dwight Gayle (in 2013-14) to score both home and away in one season against Liverpool.
As for Liverpool’s team news, Klopp could be boosted by the return to league action of star trio Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson, while Stefan Bajcetic also nears his comeback. Jota came off the bench in Thursday’s defeat to Atalanta, while Alexander-Arnold and Bajcetic were unused subs. Thiago Alcântara and Joël Matip are the only remaining long-term absentees.
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Head-to-Head
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League games against Crystal Palace (W11 D2) since a home loss in April 2017, after winning 2-1 in the reverse meeting this term at Selhurst Park.
Mateta’s second-half penalty had Palace on top before Jordan Ayew’s red card opened the door for goals from Salah and Harvey Elliott to snatch a comeback victory in December.
The Eagles have had little success at Anfield in recent years as well, going winless in their last six Premier League visits to the red half of Merseyside. That poor streak comes after three straight wins between 2015 and 2017.
In their last meeting at Anfield, Palace at least managed a 1-1 draw as Wilfried Zaha – now at Galatasaray – opened the scoring before Díaz levelled back in August 2022. The game also saw Núñez sent off on his home debut for Liverpool.
Recent Form
Liverpool are unbeaten in each of their last 28 Premier League home games, winning 22 and drawing six, but they have not kept a clean sheet in their last eight outings at Anfield.
Klopp would have to go all the way back to the middle of December for Liverpool’s last home shutout, with this eight-game run their longest such streak since a nine-match struggle between December 1998 and May 1999.
Yet Palace’s troubles suggest Klopp should not be too concerned for this one. Despite winning their first Premier League game under Glasner after Roy Hodgson’s dismissal, the Eagles are winless in their last five.
That battling stretch includes back-to-back defeats against Man City and Bournemouth, though Palace have not lost more consecutively since a four-game run in March last year.
Opta Power Rankings
The Opta Power Rankings are a global team ranking system that assigns an ability score to over 13,000 domestic football teams on a scale between zero and 100, where zero is the worst-ranked team in the world and 100 is the best team in the world.
Ahead of kick-off this weekend, here is the Opta Power Ranking for both sides.
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Predicted Lineups
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Prediction
The Opta supercomputer strongly favours a home win for Liverpool, who succeeded in a dominant 67.9% of 10,000 pre-match simulations.
Palace were afforded just a mere 11.4% chance of victory at Anfield, with the draw more likely at 20.7% in the same data-led predictions.
Heading into the weekend, Liverpool’s 29.1% likelihood of winning the Premier League title ranks them behind Manchester City (40.6%) and Arsenal (30.3%) in Opta’s end-of-season simulations.
At the other end of the league table, Palace have a minor 2.2% chance of an unlikely relegation, with 15th – one below their current position – predicted most often in 32.8%. Nevertheless, they head into the weekend just five points clear of Luton and Nottingham Forest.
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