Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Prediction, Odds & Picks

How to Watch Liverpool vs Crystal Palace

Liverpool Back From Brink to Enter Champions League Spots

A few weeks ago, Liverpool were facing up to the prospect of a season without Champions League soccer. That would have been a bitter blow for the Reds, who won the tournament as recently as 2019. Liverpool’s profile across the globe owes plenty to their success in European competition down the years – no English team has won more European Cups/Champions Leagues than they – while the club also stood to miss out on millions of pounds by failing to qualify. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, that would have been particularly damaging.

Had Jurgen Klopp been told last summer that his team would be fourth heading into the final round of fixtures, he would have been disappointed. Liverpool won the Premier League title last term and, at least until January, looked set to fight until the end in their bid to retain it. Indeed, even at the start of the calendar year Liverpool would have hoped to be much higher in the standings than fourth ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Palace.

Yet in a season that has involved more obstacles than usual, a place in the Champions League would represent a good outcome for Liverpool. When Chelsea lost to Arsenal last week, the Reds were handed a lifeline: victory in each of their final four matches would guarantee them a top-four finish, regardless of how Leicester and Chelsea performed in their remaining assignments.

Three down, one to go. Liverpool beat Manchester United 4-2 in impressive fashion last week, before Alisson Becker’s dramatic header in second-half stoppage time gave them victory over West Brom. A 3-0 triumph over Burnley last time out leaves Liverpool on the verge of fulfilling their ambitions.

Crystal Palace Face an Uncertain Post-Roy Hodgson Future

Crystal Palace, by contrast, does not have much to play for. They have long been safe from the specter of relegation and, beyond leapfrogging Wolverhampton Wanderers into 12th place, little is up for grabs for them this weekend.

Palace are not on the beach just yet, though. They performed reasonably well against Arsenal on Wednesday and were unfortunate to lose 3-1 after conceding two goals in injury time, while they twice came from behind to beat Aston Villa in their previous outing.

That clash with Arsenal was Roy Hodgson’s final home game in charge of Palace after the veteran manager announced he will step down at the end of the season. Hodgson has done a terrific job in his four years at the helm, continually keeping Palace clear of the drop zone despite having little money to spend. The 73-year-old has not officially retired – he did not rule out a return to the dugout one day – but this could well be the last time he takes charge of a Premier League match.

Hodgson is a popular man, although not so much in the red half of Merseyside. Liverpool fans did not take to the future England boss during his ill-fated stint at Anfield more than a decade ago, and many of those supporters will worry about Hodgson’s current side ending the Reds’ Champions League chances this weekend. In truth, though, Liverpool do not have much to fear.

Liverpool Should Get the Job Done in Front of Fans at Anfield

Sunday’s game will be played in front of 10,000 Liverpool fans, the highest attendance for a Premier League game at Anfield since more than 53,000 watched Klopp’s men beat Bournemouth in March of last year. That is a major boost for the Reds, who will have seen how Chelsea’s home crowd roared them to a crucial win against Leicester on Tuesday.

Even so, there might be some members of the Liverpool fan base that would rather this match was taking place elsewhere. Klopp’s side have failed to win nine of their last 11 games at Anfield, including against West Brom, Newcastle, Burnley, Brighton and Fulham. Like most of those teams, Palace can be adept at frustrating bigger opponents by getting men behind the ball and packing a punch on the counter-attack.

Yet for all the cliches about Hodgson’s teams always being well organized, Palace have struggled defensively this term: only West Brom and Southampton have conceded more goals. The Eagles have scored in eight of their last nine outings, though, and an attack featuring the in-form Christian Benteke and the ever-dangerous Wilfried Zaha should pose a few questions to an improvement, but still understrength, Liverpool backline.

All things considered, Liverpool will probably prove too strong for Hodgson’s Palace on Sunday. The visitors possess enough of a threat in the final third to score, particularly if the home team are nervous and jittery, but Klopp’s side are back in form and Palace will struggle to contain them. Back a Liverpool wins with both teams to score.