Crystal Palace vs Liverpool – Match Preview
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Roy Hodgson will have been delighted with his side’s performance last weekend as they made the short trip across London to face Fulham. A visit that saw them get off the mark in the Premier League thanks to a 2-0 win.
However, he knows that he and his players cannot sit back and celebrate their achievements for too long as they prepare for the visit of a red-hot Liverpool side who will be hoping for more success against London opposition.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have quickly shrugged off the disappointment of their Champions League Final defeat to Real Madrid last season, as they made incredibly light work of West Ham at Anfield last Sunday.
Not only but Mohamed Salah has obviously picked up where he left off after his Golden Boot winning exploits from the previous campaign. His goal in the win over the Hammers will be a warning shot to Premier League defences up and down the country.
It has displayed that he is ready to terrorise the opposition once more and it could mean another hatful of goals for the Egyptian international. However, if Liverpool showed one thing last weekend they are certainly not a one-man team.
The supporting cast of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino looked vibrant as did new signing Naby Keita who finally linked up with the club after his move from RB Leipzig was announced over 12 months ago.
If Liverpool are not a one-man team, then it might be a label that Crystal Palace sometimes unfairly wear. However, if it means being called that then they will take it because ultimately it means they have managed to keep hold of Wilfried Zaha.
Bar a move to a European league before the end of the month, then the Eagles will have kept the Ivorian at the club for at least one more campaign. The question now though is whether they can get him to sign a new contract.
This is something that they will be pushing for even further after he scored against Fulham on the opening weekend of the season. His contribution to the club was instrumental in helping Palace avoid the drop and you would imagine it would be more of the same this time around.
A look at Palace’s squad shows that they certainly have the personnel to avoid the relegation, they just need to find a greater level of consistency throughout the campaign to make sure they are not dragged into another dog fight.
That said they can be a nuisance at home, something that Liverpool will certainly attest to and they will be looking to cause their Merseyside opponents a headache when the two teams meet on Monday night.
Both teams will be looking to build on their opening weekend wins, but if Liverpool do have serious designs on winning a first ever Premier League then these are exactly the kind of fixtures that they need to be on top of. It will be tight at Selhurst Park, but the Reds should just edge an away win.
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