Liverpool welcome Crystal Palace on Saturday knowing that only an emphatic win will do in order to preserve their fading hopes of securing Champions League football.

Regardless of the result, though, the encounter is bound to end on a sombre note as captain Steven Gerrard bids goodbye to the Anfield faithful ahead of moving to the MLS.

Liverpool

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Win, lose or draw on Saturday, the despondent Liverpool fans will exit Anfield struck by a sense of sadness after seeing their hero on home soil for the final time.

Captain Gerrard will touch the 'this is Anfield' sign in the tunnel one last time before leading the Reds into battle against Crystal Palace in what represents an end-of-an-era clash on Merseyside this weekend.

With Liverpool concluding a largely disappointing season at Stoke City next week, the visit of Palace is a chance for the 34-year-old to say goodbye to the home fans following a legendary 17-year spell in the senior set-up, winning seven major honours including the Champions League in 2005.

He would have preferred his departure to coincide with Liverpool salvaging Champions League qualification in a trying season, but six points separate them and fourth-placed Manchester United ahead of the final two games.

Not only must Brendan Rodgers's side win their remaining fixtures, United must lose at home to Arsenal and away to Hull City in order for the Reds to stand any hope of making the top four - and even then it is unlikely, with 14 goals separating the sides in goal difference.

In truth, the visit of Palace and the trip to Stoke on the final day are dead rubbers for Liverpool, who effectively surrendered their top-four ambitions after suffering back-to-back defeats at United and Arsenal on March 22 and April 4 - the defeat at the Emirates leaving them seven points adrift.

With little at stake for both sides, Saturday is all about the Los Angeles Galaxy-bound midfielder, who joined Liverpool at the age of eight, finishing an iconic chapter of a fairytale story in front of his adoring supporters.

He admitted in his pre-match press conference that he will need to fight back tears at the final whistle. The same losing battle will be fought on the terraces.

Recent form: LWDLWD
Recent form (all competitions): WLDLWD

Crystal Palace

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For Crystal Palace, the season can't end quickly enough. Sixteen points clear of relegation and 16 adrift of a European spot, the Eagles went into the last six games firmly between a rock and a hard place - and the lack of incentive was evident in their recent performances.

Alan Pardew's charges make the trip to Anfield on the back of a four-match losing streak, with their 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester United last time out following a 1-0 reverse at Chelsea, who were crowned champions on the day.

Of course, they are not the first team to pick up zero points against the Blues and United in 2015, but successive 2-0 defeats by West Bromwich Albion and Hull City in the final two weeks of April suggest that the Palace players may have already had one eye on a much-needed holiday following a turbulent season rife with instability.

Prior to Pardew's arrival at the start of the calendar year, axed manager Neil Warnock struggled to reverse the effects of boss Tony Pulis quitting just two days before the season kicked off, with the Londoners 18th in the standings when Pardew came in.

To say that the former Newcastle United boss has been a success would be an understatement, given that they sit 12th and eight points clear of danger despite picking up zero points from a possible 12 in recent weeks.

Beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 and upsetting then-Premier League champions Manchester City by the same scoreline represent the flagship victories in a morale-boosting 2015 for Pardew.

It is indicative of his impact that Palace, whose rivals were once Hull City, QPR, Leicester City and Burnley, now have nothing to play for.

They may be looking forward to Saturday's trip to Merseyside, but only because it brings them closer to officially finishing a season that, for them, has been over for some time.

Recent form: WWLLLL

Team News

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Mamadou Sakho, who has been absent since early April with a hamstring injury, returned to training this week but Rodgers confirmed that Saturday comes too soon.

Mario Balotelli could return to the matchday squad after missing last weekend's 1-1 draw at Chelsea.

Rickie Lambert could lead the forward line once again, however, as he looks to improve on his three Premier League goals this season.

Meanwhile, Pardew confirmed that he has no injury worries but did reveal that he expects to make wholesale changes from the defeat to the Red Devils.

After being lauded by the Palace boss in his press conference, Jason Puncheon, who scored against United, could come into the side, as could Lee Chung-yong for what would be his full debut.

Liverpool's possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Johnson; Henderson, Gerrard, Coutinho, Sterling, Lallana; Balotelli

Crystal Palace's possible starting lineup:
Speroni; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Lee, Puncheon, Bolasie, McArthur, Zaha; Murray

Head To Head

The Merseysiders boast a stellar record against their London counterparts after winning 26 of the last 38 meetings. Both sides have enjoyed a win this season, with Palace winning the reverse fixture 3-1 in October, while Liverpool had their revenge in February by knocking them out of the FA Cup.

Ironically, Pardew was involved the last time the Eagles won at Anfield - a 2-1 victory back in 1991 in a game which saw the Palace boss make a second-half appearance.

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We say: Liverpool 2-1 Crystal Palace

Despite losing their last four games, Palace have been safe from relegation for a number of weeks now and it could be argued that their four-match losing streak is reflected in the lack of incentive to stop the rot.

With the same shortage of motivation sure to follow them to Merseyside, we reckon that Liverpool will inflict another defeat on a side who, mentally, have been on their holidays for a while.

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