Chris Sutton has hesitantly tipped Liverpool to maintain their 100% Premier League record for April when they host Crystal Palace at Anfield this afternoon.
Victories over Fulham and Everton, coupled with slip-ups for positional rivals, have seen the Reds open a five-point gap to Brighton in sixth and with a game in hand, and another three points today would represent a massive step towards securing Champions League football for next term.
However, the Eagles haven’t lost any of their four meetings against Arne Slot’s side over the past year and won 3-0 on their previous visit to Merseyside in the Carabao Cup six months ago, also triumphing in the Community Shield and the reverse top-flight fixture at Selhurst Park.
Sutton has given his predictions for the weekend’s Premier League action to BBC Sport, and he’s backed Liverpool to prevail 2-1; but unlike Paul Merson, his vote of confidence in the Reds is far from emphatic.
The former Blackburn and Chelsea striker said: ‘It would not surprise me if Crystal Palace went to Anfield and won because they have done it already this season, and appear well-suited to playing Liverpool.
‘The Eagles have already got the better of them three times this season – on penalties at Wembley to decide the Community Shield, in the Premier League at Selhurst Park and then at Anfield in the Carabao Cup.
‘Palace are over their mid-season blip too but, on the flip side, they don’t have much to play for in the league now they are essentially safe. They may also have Europe on their mind, because the Conference League gives them a chance of another trophy and they play Shakhtar on Thursday.
‘Liverpool are far from convincing at the moment – Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz look miles off it – so why I do I still feel myself edging towards Liverpool here?’
The Reds’ recent wins and the buffer they’ve created in the race for the final Champions League berth have prompted a slightly more positive mood among supporters in the past fortnight, but all too often this season we’ve seen false dawns evaporate quickly by the hammer blow of defeat.
Palace may have a Conference League semi-final coming up on Thursday, but their chances of qualifying for Europe via domestic placing remain genuine, so they mightn’t be quite as ‘on the beach’ in terms of their Premier League campaign as Sutton and others have suggested.
They’ve often proven to be a thorn in Liverpool’s side not just this season, but over the past few years, unbeaten in four visits to Anfield in all competitions dating back to September 2021, and they come to Merseyside today with no great pressure to burden them.
Sutton was also critical of Isak and Wirtz during the week, and we could do with big performances from that duo today, as indeed from the rest of the team, with Champions League qualification now looking more likely but certainly not a formality just yet.
A victory by any margin or means this afternoon would feel like a huge step towards securing a top-five finish, whilst also removing the psychological baggage of our recent record against Palace.
Welcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically
Playing jones at full back is downright stupid, he can’t ornwont tackle, he’s everywhere he shouldn’t be , like Evertons equaliser where was he ,huffing and puffing on the half way line, palace speed merchants will murder him
According to some Jones had an excellent game against Everton ( don’t know which game they were watching ) in my view he is not good enough to play for Liverpool, too slow, side ways backward passes don’t help. Always massive gaps in the midfield when he plays there ,all down to him failing to trackback when he loses the ball ( which he does on many occasions )shouldn’t be playing anywhere let alone right back.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.
