Crystal Palace vs Liverpool - Premier League Preview and Odds

Published on: 29/03/2018

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool - Premier League Preview and Odds

March, 31 2018 12:30 Selhurst Park

Premier League

The first Premier League match after the International break sees Champions League hopefuls Liverpool make the long journey south to take on former boss Roy Hodgson`s Crystal Palace side in Saturday`s early kick off.

Palace bagged a crucial win away to Huddersfield last time out to lift themselves out of the bottom three. That win came on the back of four-straight defeats that had Eagle`s fans fearing the worst. After a bright start in South London, Roy Hodgson has overseen a rather dismal campaign which could still end in relegation. If it had not been for the ever-productive Wilfred Zaha, they may have already been doomed.

This is the toughest home fixture of their run-in so anything they can get from this game will be a bonus. However, they have lost three of the last four against the Reds. The only positive is that former Anfield man Christian Benteke has a decent scoring record against his old employers having registered six goals in eight games against them. Palace fans will be hoping he can find his scoring boots as he has netted just twice in the league this term.

Meanwhile, Liverpool didn`t let the defeat to Manchester United affect them too much, bouncing back with a 5-0 thrashing of Watford. With just one loss in their last five and 14 goals scored, they will be confident of getting a result here. Jurgen Klopps men came out on top when the two sides met at Anfield back in August.

The Reds can leapfrog Manchester United and move 10 points clear of fifth with a win. Although the teams around them would have two games in hand. With a Champions League quarter-final coming up, Liverpool will want to avoid taking their eye off the ball in the race for a top four finish as they seek to establish themselves as a European force once again.

As the Premier League`s top scorer, Mohamed Salah remains the key man for the Reds. His 28 goals and nine assists have helped to compensate for a defence that is sometimes overexposed by Klopp`s system. However, they have looked considerably tighter at the back since Virgil Van Dijk arrived in January.

Recent Form (League)

Crystal Palace: LLLLW

Liverpool: WWWLW

Betting odds and tips

With 13 of Liverpool`s last 16 away matches having produced over 2.5 goals, that looks like the banker bet of the weekend.

You can back Over 3.5 goals at 4/7.

By Neil Morris