Liverpool vs Crystal Palace - English Premier League - Saturday 19th January 15:00 GMT - Match Preview

Liverpool continue their quest for a first Premier League title this weekend when they host Crystal Palace at Anfield after three consecutive away games, Palace have been seen as a bogey side for Liverpool in recent years famously recovering from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 last time Liverpool were pushing for a league title but they seem to have ended that by winning 5 of the last 6 meetings including the latest 3. Palace has proven a team capable of upsetting the odds this season by managing to draw against Manchester United and Arsenal as well as pulling off that hugely surprising win over Manchester City just last month. That game will serve as a reminder to Jurgen Klopp not to take this game for granted despite recent good form and with City and Spurs facing the two sides at the bottom of the league this weekend it is more vital than ever Liverpool take all 3 points and maintain the 4 point gap between them and 2nd place.

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Jurgen Klopp got back on track with a victory against Brighton last time out but it came at a cost with both Trent Alexander Arnold and Gini Wijnaldum picking up injuries ruling them out of this weekends game. They join Oxlade Chamberlain, Lallana, Lovren and Gomez on the injury list meaning Klopp will once again have to call on his versatile players to fill in at the back. Fabinho played well against Brighton in central defence but with Wijnaldum out and Joel Matip back after a shoulder injury, it is likely he will be moved back into his preferred position in midfield. Nathaniel Clyne was allowed to leave on load right before the injury to Alexander Arnold and so James Milner is the most likely option to fill in at right-back but youngster Rafael Camacho is another option. Alisson, Van Dijk and Robertson are certain to make up the rest of the back 5 for Liverpool while Henderson could partner Fabinho in the deep midfield. I think it is likely Klopp will stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation against Palace and also the same players with Shaqiri and Mane in the wide roles and Firmino playing behind Salah up top.

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Palace manager is not very well liked by Liverpool fans after his brief stint as The Reds manager but do a little to regain some of his reputation with that away victory against Manchester City last month. Hodgson's side sits 14th but just 4 points off 18th placed Newcastle and so are in danger of becoming involved in another relegation dogfight as we get closer to the end of the season. Palace form has been very up and down recently, they followed up on the win against City by drawing 0-0 with Cardiff and losing to Chelsea. They have then picked up an impressive away win over Wolves only to lose 2-1 at home to Watford in their latest game. The last two away victories will be a concern to Liverpool however they hadn't won in their previous seven away games before those games. Palace has a squad built up of some really good players capable of performing exceptionally on their day but seem to have a hard time getting consistent performances from them, despite having exciting forward players like Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend their top scorer is defensive midfielder Luka Milivojevic who has 6 goals so far this season.

Alongside Milivojevic their best player this season has arguably been young right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, he was red-carded in a previous 2-0 defeat against Liverpool last year but despite being sent off I remember his performance being very strong and he provided a difficult challenge for Liverpool's attackers. Christian Benteke made a return from injury in their latest game against Watford and may be an important goal provider for Palace between now and the end of the season, despite not being so great while playing for Liverpool he had a good record of scoring at Anfield playing against them however it is most likely he will remain on the bench after being out of action for such a long period of time.

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The fixture list has cleared up after the intense festive period and exits from domestic cups mean Liverpool play just once a week until the return of the Champions League towards the end of February, this means Klopp has plenty of sessions to prepare for this game and fills me with confidence Liverpool can get the victory despite the injuries mounting up. Liverpool is the only side in the top 3 that are playing on Saturday and so can extend the gap back to 7 points to add a little bit of pressure on their rivals who play on Sunday.