Emre Can Ruled Out of Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool, Nathaniel Clyne Could Return

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Emre Can will not be fit in time to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday but made assurances the midfielder will not be sidelined for long.

The German also revealed the Reds could be boosted by the return of Nathaniel Clyne to the squad for their visit to Selhurst Park at Saturday lunchtime, per David Lynch on Liverpool's official website:

"Emre is out for the weekend. [He is] getting better and better and better, much better. Hopefully he can have a normal session with us on Sunday morning and then should be fine again.

"Clyney is back. He played last week for the U23s. One or two games more would be nice but the situation is like it is. We have Clyney. I said yesterday to the boys that we lost Joe [Gomez] but finally we got Clyney back. He has been back for a few weeks already but he has come closer and closer. He is a very good option."

Right-back Clyne, 26, has been out of action with a back injury for the entire season but has returned to fitness at an ideal time after Gomez was injured on international duty with England.

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Can, 24, was forced to withdraw from the German squad during the international break due to the back problem he picked up in the Reds' last outing against Watford. But it does look like he'll be ready to return for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League clash against Manchester City.

Liverpool can open up a 10-point gap to fifth-placed Chelsea if they beat Palace on Saturday.

Despite the Eagles sitting 16th in the table and Klopp's side having won four of their last five Premier League games, a Liverpool win is far from guaranteed.

In the 21st century, Liverpool and Palace have faced each other 17 times, and the head-to-head record is currently in the London outfit's favour—they have won eight to Liverpool's seven, with two draws.

The Reds also have a strangely poor record in fixtures with early kick-offs, per Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo.

All that being said, Liverpool should have enough to claim all three points against a struggling Palace side.

Key attacking trio Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah all survived the international break unscathed, and Klopp's side should be high on confidence following their 5-0 drubbing of Watford last time out.