Match Squads
The hosts present an youthful side, the majority of regular starters omitted. Milos Kerkez, desperate to play himself into some form, is the only player to start again after the loss at Brentford last weekend. Reserve keeper the goalkeeper and youngster the winger are handed first starts, while the team also boasts teen talent the forward and 18-year-old midfielder Trey Nyoni. Nobody on their bench is above 21 years; Gordon is the reserve with senior exposure with nine senior appearances on his record.
Crystal Palace by contrast retain six players from the team deployed for the narrow loss at the Gunners on Sunday. The defender, Lacroix, Muñoz, The winger, Pino and The midfielder all hold onto their shirts. He has several finishes against this opponent in eight matches for Palace and Watford, while one of the players stepping into the team tonight, Eddie Nketiah, got the match-winning strike when the teams met at Selhurst last month.
Match Squads
Anfield outfit: The keeper, Calvin Ramsay, The youngster, Gomez, The left-back, The midfielder, Milos Kerkez, Morrison, Mac Allister, Ngumoha, Federico Chiesa.
Reserves: Pecsi, The winger, The player, The talent, Pinnington, Figueroa, The sub, The player, The reserve.
Crystal Palace: The goalkeeper, The defender, Maxence Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, The midfielder, Daichi Kamada, Borna Sosa, The attacker, The winger, Eddie Nketiah.
Reserves: Dean Henderson, The defender, The midfielder, Uche, Jean-Philippe Mateta, The full-back, Esse, Devenny, The sub.
Official: Pawson (Yorkshire).
Fixture Context
The Merseysiders have traditionally faced difficulties with Crystal Palace as tricky foes. Not always – they lead the head-to-head – but when the visitors perform a hit on the Reds, they strike hard, and hit hard. Their 1990 cup meeting. The 2014 thriller. The recent curtain-raiser. The recent encounter that sparked this dramatic downturn of Arne Slot’s champion side, the beginning of a poor run in a sequence of five in six.
Include another set of results into the mix. Of the previous fixtures between the clubs, Palace have secured three victories (we’re counting the season opener as a win), the Reds just two wins. What’s even more worrying the Reds are the form at Liverpool’s stadium: Palace have won one and drawn two of the previous three. The Londoners have a strong upper hand over the home team at the moment.
However, Palace are in a bit of a rut of their own. Three losses have come of their last four matches in every tournament, not securing a win domestically since that aforementioned capitulation-triggering fixture to Selhurst. So here are two sides who could do with a boost to turn their year around. That alone should give us a good possibility of some thrilling football tonight, though any broader implications may be influenced by what sides the two managers decide to select; it’s not expected to be full-strength teams. We will see about that in due course. The match begins is at 7.45pm GMT. We’re underway!
