Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace
Venue: Anfield Stadium
Kick off: 4:30PM
Liverpool have a chance to strengthen their hold on a place in the top four of the Premier League on Sunday (today) when welcoming lowly Crystal Palace to Anfield.
Both sides have seen their fortunes take a turn for the better in recent weeks, heading into Sunday’s showdown on Merseyside as two of the most in-form teams in the division.
As one of just two sides in the current top six to play today, along with fatigued Europa League semi-finalists Manchester United, the Reds can take another step towards nailing down a spot in next term’s Champions League.
While there remains an underlying feeling of disappointment around Anfield, with Liverpool right in the title race and on track for silverware in both domestic cup competitions just a few months back, there is no doubt that finishing fourth would still constitute a good first full campaign at the club for Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool are no longer one of the supposed dominant forces in the English game, as evidenced by their league finishes over the previous decade, which averages out at fifth place over the past nine seasons.
Earning Champions League football was always likely to be the first task for Klopp – then comes challenging for the title.
As things stand, the Merseyside outfit have nine players on the sidelines nursing injuries both short term and long – including a trio of centre-backs – which is three more than the next side in the list.
If challenging for the top four was the goal for Liverpool, it is a little more difficult to ascertain what exactly Palace’s aim for the season was.
After finishing a respectable 11th, 10th and 15th in their three seasons back at this level, there appeared to be more emphasis on altering the style of play at Selhurst Park.
That gamble ultimately backfired, costing Alan Pardew his job following a shocking set of results that spanned the course of the calendar year, and in came survival expert Sam Allardyce on Christmas Eve to stop the dramatic slide down the division.
Allardyce, fresh off the back of losing his dream job with the England national side, failed to work his magic in the early weeks of his Palace tenure, winning just one of his first eight games at the helm.
Any fears of relegation have since been eased thanks to a major upturn in fortunes, however, seeing them win five and draw one of their last seven outings to move up to 15th in the table and now seven clear of the dropzone with a game in hand to play.
Liverpool Possible XI: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Gomez, Milner, Wijnaldum, Leiva, Can, Firmino, Origi, Coutinho.
Crystal Palace Possible XI: Hennessey, Ward, Kelly, Tomkins, Van Aanholt, Cabaye, Milivojevic, Zaha, Puncheon, Townsend, Benteke.