Match Squads
Liverpool are fielding an fresh lineup, the majority of first-team players given the night off. Milos Kerkez, desperate to play himself into some form, remains the single athlete to keep his place after the setback at Brentford last weekend. Reserve keeper Woodman and 18-year-old Northern Ireland winger the winger earn maiden appearances, while the team also boasts teen talent Ngumoha and teenage midfielder Trey Nyoni. None of the substitutes is over 21; Gordon is the reserve with senior exposure with nine first-team outings on his CV.
The London club on the other hand retain six players from the team selected for the reverse at Arsenal on Sunday. Guéhi, The centre-back, Daniel Muñoz, The winger, The attacker and Kamada all keep their places. Sarr has a handful of strikes against this opponent in eight appearances for Crystal Palace and Watford, while one of the players stepping into the team tonight, Nketiah, netted the decisive goal when the teams clashed at Selhurst Park last month.
Team Sheets
Liverpool: The keeper, The right-back, Nyoni, The defender, The left-back, Wataru Endo, Kerkez, Kieran Morrison, The playmaker, Ngumoha, The forward.
Subs: Pecsi, The winger, The player, Kone-Doherty, Pinnington, Figueroa, The sub, Lucky, The reserve.
Crystal Palace: Benitez, Canvot, Lacroix, The defender, Munoz, The midfielder, Kamada, Sosa, The attacker, Pino, The striker.
Substitutes: Dean Henderson, Mitchell, Jefferson Lerma, The player, Mateta, The full-back, The youngster, Devenny, The sub.
Match referee: Pawson (The region).
Match Background
The Merseysiders have traditionally faced difficulties with Crystal Palace as difficult opponents. Not always – they have more victories – but when the London club perform a hit on the hosts, they land a blow, and hit hard. Their 1990 cup meeting. Crystanbul. This season’s Community Shield. The recent encounter that triggered this surprising slump of Liverpool’s title-winning team, Liverpool’s first loss in a string of losses.
Now let’s fold another couple of sequences into the mix. Of the recent encounters between the clubs, Crystal Palace have won three (we’re counting the Community Shield as a win), the Reds just two wins. What’s even more worrying the Reds are the recent results at Anfield: Palace have secured a win and two draws of the most recent trio. Crystal Palace have a firm grip over the home team at the moment.
Despite this, the Eagles are in a dip in form of their own. They have suffered three defeats of their recent games in every tournament, not securing a win domestically since that previously mentioned loss-inducing visit of Liverpool to Selhurst Park. So here are a couple of teams who would benefit from a spark to rejuvenate their campaign. This factor should give us a good possibility of some thrilling football tonight, though any broader implications may hinge on what lineups the two managers decide to put out; it’s doubtful to be full-strength teams. But we’ll find out about that soon enough. The start is at 7.45pm GMT. We’re underway!
