Preview: Liverpool vs Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

Firmly in the driving seat for Champions League football in 2026-27, Arne Slot's rejuvenated Liverpool host an increasingly resilient Crystal Palace at Anfield on Saturday.

The reigning Premier League champions claimed the Merseyside derby bragging rights last weekend, while the Eagles prolonged their steady unbeaten run in a 0-0 draw with West Ham United.

Match preview

Different venue, same premise, different outcome - a centre-back scoring a last-minute goal in the Merseyside derby.

After James Tarkowski took it upon himself to salvage a draw for Everton during the final Toffees-Reds encounter to be played at Goodison Park, Virgil van Dijk was Liverpool's latest last-minute hero with a record-breaking winning header, after Mohamed Salah and Beto had struck in front of the away end.

Breaking blue hearts with three figures on the clock, Liverpool's 100th-minute clincher saw the Reds score a 90+ minute winner against Everton for the sixth time in the Premier League - more than any other team against a single opponent - and also relieved the pressure on Slot's shoulders for a few days at least.

Thanks in no small part to Chelsea's calamitous collapse, Liverpool may only be a couple of positive results away from securing a Champions League spot for next season, lying fifth in the Premier League table and five points clear of Brighton & Hove Albion with a game in hand.

While the Reds will still cede the Premier League crown with a whimper, Slot's side have only suffered defeat in one of their last 10 top-flight home games and now welcome opponents with bigger continental fish to fry.

No strangers to silverware themselves in recent times, FA Cup and Community Shield holders Crystal Palace have little on the line for the remainder of the Premier League season, which is less than can be said for their European adventures.

Saturday's trip to Anfield comes five days before the Eagles head to Poland for the first leg of their Conference League semi-final with Shakhtar Donetsk, which the travelling faithful could be forgiven for already having one eye on.

On the back of Crystal Palace's jaunt to Fiorentina in the quarter-finals, Oliver Glasner unsurprisingly made a handful of alterations for Monday's London derby with West Ham, in which the Eagles forced a goalless stalemate with the relegation battlers.

Thirteenth in the rankings with a game in hand on every team around them, Palace have seemingly learned how to successfully juggle domestic and continental commitments; after their appalling 12-game winless run from December 14 to February 1, they now boast a far more respectable seven victories from their last 14 in all competitions.

The Eagles have also gone four unbeaten in the Premier League since March's narrow defeat to Manchester United, and Glasner oversaw a magnificent set of results against Saturday's hosts in 2025 - three wins and one draw across the Premier League, EFL Cup and Community Shield.

Liverpool Premier League form:

Liverpool form (all competitions):

Crystal Palace Premier League form:

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

Team News

In the process of trying to prevent Beto's equaliser last weekend, Liverpool number two Giorgi Mamardashvili suffered a wound to the knee that required hospitalisation, and the Georgia international will now spend two to four weeks on the sidelines.

As first-choice shot-stopper Alisson Becker is not a guarantee either, number three Freddie Woodman is poised to make his full Premier League debut for Liverpool, and just his second start for the club after October's 3-0 EFL Cup loss to Crystal Palace.

Wataru Endo (ankle), Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor Bradley (knee) and Giovanni Leoni (ACL) are all long-term absentees, but Joe Gomez has at least recovered from a muscle issue.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace duo Maxence Lacroix and Adam Wharton were both casualties of the trip to Fiorentina; the former shook off his knock to take part against West Ham, but the Liverpool-linked latter was absent from the derby with his adductor issue.

However, Glasner has confirmed that Wharton will return for the trip to Liverpool. which Cheick Doucoure (muscle), Evann Guessand (knee) and Eddie Nketiah (thigh) will definitely miss, while ex-Reds defender Nathaniel Clyne is a slight doubt due to illness.

After ringing the changes on Monday, Glasner is now expected to recall the likes of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Liverpool's nemesis Ismaila Sarr, who has scored in each of his last four appearances against the Reds in all tournaments.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Woodman; Jones, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Lacroix; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Johnson; Mateta

We say: Liverpool 2-1 Crystal Palace

If a last-minute derby winner does not do wonders for Liverpool's morale, nothing will, and the Reds have been looking a bit more like themselves in the Premier League of late despite their UCL disappointments.

As such, Palace's recent stronghold over Slot's side should count for nothing on Saturday, where Liverpool should maintain their iron grip on a Champions League spot with a gritty victory.

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