Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Two of the Premier League's most charismatic figures line up against each other at Anfield on Sunday, as Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool welcome Alan Pardew and Crystal Palace on Merseyside, with both managers desperate to secure a victory.
Klopp, leading the home side, has enjoyed a bright start to his managerial reign, with a 3-1 victory over Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend serving as the highlight of his first month in charge.
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That win saw Liverpool to eighth, one point and two positions above Palace—who held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.
Last season, this fixture heralded Steven Gerrard's final appearance at Anfield as a Liverpool player, with the long-serving Reds captain departing for MLS franchise LA Galaxy over the summer, but Pardew's side arrived with the intention of spoiling the midfielder's afternoon.
Goals from Jason Puncheon, Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray sealed a 3-1 victory for the Eagles, and that will be fresh in the mind of the Liverpool players returning to feature again on Sunday.
Both sides are in strong form so far in 2015/16, so this one promises to be a hotly contested clash.
Date: Sunday, 8 November, 2015
Time: 4 p.m. GMT / 11 a.m. ET
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool, England
TV Info: NBC (U.S. only)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)
Form Lines (Last 5 Games)
Liverpool: DDWWW
Crystal Palace: WLLLD
Team News
Klopp has a strong squad to select from for his fourth Premier League outing, with both Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana returning to the fold after starting on the bench in Thursday night's 1-0 win away over Rubin Kazan.
After that win, the German laughed off the notion that European contention would affect his selection, as the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce relayed:
"We have to play. We cannot rest. That is our situation. This has been really good.
Four weeks, it’s a short time we’ve been working together. Six games? That is not a big number and we have a common experience.
We can work with this. The best training at the moment is our matches.
It is very intensive. It is good for physical condition and it is good to talk about after games. It’s much easier when we win.
"
Therefore it is likely that first-team mainstays Simon Mignolet, Nathaniel Clyne, Mamadou Sakho, Alberto Moreno, Emre Can, James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Christian Benteke will all retain their starting roles at Anfield.
Joao Carlos Teixeira and Jose Enrique are also available after being ineligible in midweek.
Klopp will be without four others, however, with Jordan Henderson, Daniel Sturridge, Jordan Rossiter and Jon Flanagan all remaining on the sidelines.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday's clash, Pardew revealed that he is facing a selection crisis when it comes to his attacking line, with Connor Wickham, Marouane Chamakh and Dwight Gayle all injury concerns.
"Connor he's not 100%, but he is back in training full time now, as is Chamakh. Both of those, [Liverpool is] probably a little bit early," he detailed, as relayed by the club's official website.
"We have one other scare and that's Dwight Gayle, he might struggle to make this game. We'll see how he is tomorrow."
This leaves Fraizer Campbell and Patrick Bamford as Pardew's only recognised centre-forwards, with Yannick Bolasie deputising in that role also a possibility.
Pardew has few other injury worries, however, with Lee Chung-Yong the only other likely absentee as Pape Souare has successfully recovered from a knock.
Predicted Lineups
With Coutinho and Lallana both fit and available, Klopp is unlikely to make too many changes to the side that defeated Chelsea last weekend.
But, by replacing Milner with Benteke just after the hour mark at Stamford Bridge, Klopp perhaps signalled his intentions in terms of shape and personnel for the long term—and Liverpool supporters could see that in effect with a near-full-strength side lining up against the Eagles.
Milner's withdrawal prompted a switch to Klopp's favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, with this system enduring against Rubin.
Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho and Moreno will likely continue their roles as Klopp's first-choice defensive line, while Can and Lucas Leiva could form a two-man midfield base.
Ahead of Can and Lucas, Lallana, Firmino and Coutinho are set to support Benteke as the lone striker—though midweek goalscorer Jordon Ibe will be hopeful of a starting berth ahead of Lallana.
The return to fitness of Souare and Damien Delaney allows Pardew to field his strongest back four, with the pair likely joined by Martin Kelly and Scott Dann ahead of goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.
Midfield duo Yohan Cabaye and James McArthur could continue their work in the engine room, but the waning fitness of Gayle will prompt Pardew into making a change to his attacking line.
With Zaha, Puncheon, Bolasie and Bakary Sako all in strong form so far this season, however, this should not be an issue.
Bolasie can adopt the nominal role as starting striker, duly supported by his attacking cohorts.
Likely Liverpool XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno; Lucas, Can; Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho; Benteke
Likely Crystal Palace XI: Hennessey; Kelly, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Cabaye, McArthur; Sako, Puncheon, Zaha; Bolasie
Players to Watch
Nathaniel Clyne
Having already featured against Southampton earlier this season, Clyne is in line for another clash with a former employer by starting in a right-back role against Palace on Sunday.
Clyne came through the Palace youth ranks after joining as a 13-year-old, with the club's Academy Director Gary Issott telling the Croydon Advertiser's Mark Ritson in 2014 that the England international is "the best defender I’ve ever worked with."
"We all remember Nathaniel at Palace," Issott continued. "He's excellent in one-versus-one situations and he has got that pace and good timing to get forward."
After establishing himself at Palace, and then with the Saints, Clyne joined Liverpool for £12.5 million this summer and has made the right-back spot his own under both Klopp and Brendan Rodgers.
Renowned for his tough-tackling approach, Clyne will face a major challenge lining up against one of Zaha and Sako on Palace's left flank, and he will be keen to test his mettle against his former club.
Yannick Bolasie
Speaking ahead of Sunday's clash, Pardew highlighted Bolasie's versatility and the potential to take Liverpool by surprise once again in a central role.
"Yala has played a number of times for us up front and I felt he did OK," he told reporters, as relayed by Ritson for the Croydon Advertiser. "He can play a number of positions and that's the beauty of his pace and power, which caused Liverpool a lot of problems last time.
"The Anfield crowd gave him a real applause for an away player when he was substituted, so he'll take that confidence into the game."
Bolasie stole the show in Gerrard's final Anfield outing last season, spearheading the Eagles' 3-1 victory—with the hapless Dejan Lovren struggling to cope with the Congolese's pace and trickery.
Pardew will be hoping for more of the same this time out, as Bolasie gears up for another round against the Reds.
Key Battle
Philippe Coutinho vs. Martin Kelly
Coutinho and Kelly appeared alongside each other just five times as Liverpool players, racking up 101 minutes on the field together. But the one-time England international will be well aware of his former team-mate's talents.
With Kelly likely lining up at right-back and Coutinho set to continue his left-sided attacking role in Klopp's 4-2-3-1, this clash will pit the pair directly against each other—and Kelly will seek the backing of his manager in order to overthrow Liverpool's elegant No. 10.
During his pre-match press conference, Pardew referenced Coutinho's ability to "turn a game," as he did with two goals in Saturday's 3-1 win away to Chelsea.
"Coutinho is probably, at the moment, their best player in terms of the level he's at," he said. "I don't think anyone in the Premier League would disagree that he's been in the top five players, offensively, this year."
While Coutinho has struggled for form for much of the 2015/16 season so far, his brace at Stamford Bridge signalled a return to the high standard that Pardew acknowledged.
Kelly will have to be at his best to quell the dynamic Brazilian on Sunday.
Odds
Liverpool win: 100/161
Crystal Palace win: 9/2
Draw: 11/4
Via Odds Shark and correct at time of writing.
Statistics via WhoScored.com and LFCHistory.net.
