Following their victory over Brighton last weekend, Liverpool now have two home games in a row in the Premier League and a chance to take further steps towards winning the title this season. First up is Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon and Klopp's team will be looking to extend their lead over Manchester City to 7 points again.

Current Form

Liverpool

Despite losing to Manchester City at the Etihad recently, Liverpool are still in strong form and bounced back with a win over Brighton in a tricky away fixture. They now find themselves at the top of the Premier League on 57 points, 4 points ahead of 2nd placed Manchester City and now 9 points clear of 3rd placed Tottenham. In their previous 5 fixtures, Liverpool have won 4 and lost 1.

Statistically, Liverpool have been impressive in all departments so far this season. They've scored 50 goals in the league so far, an average of 2.17 goals per game. Defensively, they are the best in the league having conceded just 10 times all season, an average of 0.43 goals per game. This has led to the Reds maintaining 13 clean sheets in just 23 games.

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace have had a rollercoaster of a season so far and currently sit in 14th place in the league on 22 points, just 4 points clear of the relegation zone. Although they've beaten the likes of Manchester City and Wolves recently, they've also lost to Watford. Over their previous 5 fixtures, Crystal Palace have won 2, lost 2, and drawn 1.

Having scored 20 times so far this season, an average of 0.91 goals per game, it's clear to see that Crystal Palace are lacking the firepower required to climb the table at the moment. Defensively, however, they haven't been too bad and have conceded 28 times, an average of 1.27 goals per game.

Head to Head

Over the previous 10 meetings between the clubs, Liverpool won 7 and Crystal Palace won 3. Crystal Palace are often noted to be a potential banana skin for Liverpool but it's significant to note that the Reds have been victorious in all previous 4 games between the clubs.

Analysis

Liverpool

Having managed to navigate a difficult set of fixtures over the last couple of months, Liverpool's only downfall was at the hands of Manchester City. This is a cause of frustration for Liverpool supporters as a win in that game would have put them 10 points clear at the top of the table and most likely sealed the deal that they finish the season as Premier League champions. That was not to be the case, however, and a loss to Guardiola's team has meant that they are 4 points clear instead. This is still a decent gap but it's clear that mistakes from either team could paint the rest of the season in a very different light. Liverpool have the advantage of playing first again this weekend and this is an opportunity to take 3 points and apply pressure to Manchester City.

Home advantage could be huge in this game. With Liverpool supporters slowly starting to consider the idea that they could win the league this season, the atmosphere will improve every time the Reds record a win. Having beaten Brighton away from home last weekend in a fixture that was touted as being a difficult one, there is a chance here to grab another 6 points at home and take two big steps towards the league title. Nonetheless, no Premier League fixture is easy, and Klopp will make it clear that Liverpool cannot afford to be complacent in these games. With the supporters in great spirits, the players are likely to be buoyant when they step out onto the Anfield pitch. An early goal here would calm any nerves and potentially open up the floodgates for a high scoring game.

One issue that Liverpool have at the moment is that Alexander-Arnold has suffered a knee injury that will see him miss out on 3 games. Liverpool haven't had much luck with injuries to the defence this season with Gomez, Matip, Lovren, and Alexander-Arnold all facing time on the sidelines. However, Fabinho is accustomed to the role of right-back from his time at Monaco and Milner is more than capable to step in and do a job there. Rumour has it that Matip is fit enough to return to central defence and this should be a huge boost with Gomez almost fit, too. With home advantage, Liverpool are likely to opt for 4 attacking players, most probably Salah, Mane, Firmino, and Shaqiri. This attacking unit is more than capable of causing Crystal Palace plenty of issues and should be able to get on the scoresheet over the 90 minutes. Liverpool will need to remain solid at the back to thwart any attempts on goal from the likes of former Red, Benteke, but this is a task that van Dijk will savour.

Crystal Palace

It's difficult to know how Crystal Palace will be feeling coming into this fixture. Although they have recorded impressive victories over the likes of Manchester City and Wolves recently, they have also lost to Watford and drew against Cardiff. Had this game been played at Selhurst Park then home advantage may have played a part, but that is not the case and this is a game that Crystal Palace are heavy outsiders in. Perhaps their best chance of success is to play the ball long to the likes of Benteke who has a habit of scoring against his former club, but he hasn't managed to score a goal this season and only managed to score 3 times in 31 appearances last season.

If Crystal Palace are to remain competitive in this game then they cannot afford to concede an early goal. Once Liverpool have scored at home, it is much easier for them to control the game with strategic possession dominance and counter-attacks. Crystal Palace will need to try to gain some control over the midfield battle in order to not be pushed back deep into their own half and will need to take opportunities to attack when they are presented to them. With a replacement right-back in place, Crystal Palace could look to target this area. Although Milner is a capable makeshift right-back, it is not his natural position, and the likes of Zaha or Townsend could definitely cause him some problems.

Predictions

With home advantage on their side, this is a game that Liverpool should go out and win with relative ease. It's not always as simple as that but they have the firepower to score a few goals here and their home defensive record is impeccable. The only worry would be complacency as the Reds have a far stronger team, but Palace have shown that they can obtain a surprise result from time to time in this league. Nonetheless, I believe Liverpool will be too strong for them here.

Betting Picks

There are still a few days before kick-off so my bets are currently unmatched, but I have placed potential matches for over 2.5 goals and over 3.5 goals. I believe Liverpool will score a few here so have added odds that align with other bookmakers.

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