Liverpool Desperate For A Victory Over Palace

Crystal Palace teeter on the brink of the relegation zone and face a tough scrap on paper, against the might of last season`s Premier League runners-up Liverpool. Sunday`s (23rd November) clash may not be as one sided as many expect however with the Reds failing to grab a victory in their last three matches.

Sitting in 11th place and 11 points off May`s finishing position, Brendan Rodgers` men`s poor run of form began away to Newcastle on the first day of November. The sides couldn`t be split at half time though Liverpool succumbed to substitute Ayoze Perez`s strike, which proved to be the difference between the two teams.

A weakened side was fielded for the Merseyside club`s Champions League encounter with Spanish giants Real Madrid in order to prepare the first-team for their clash against the unbeaten Chelsea. It was a mere goal that separated the two teams at the final whistle after Karim Benzema struck on-target in the first half.

Rodgers` plan for Chelsea success failed too as the Scousers` ninth minute lead through Emre Can was squander five minutes later as Gary Cahill scored through a routine corner drill. Diego Costa then grabbed the winner in the second half for the Londoners.

On a similarly poor run are Crystal Palace who have failed to pick up a win in their last five efforts. Neil Warnock`s side proved tough to break down for Manchester United last time out but were eventually broken open by a Juan Mata strike halfway through the second half.

The tough-to-take defeat followed a 3-1 humiliation at home to Sunderland, a Wes Brown own-goal being the only Eagles contribution, and a 2-2 draw away to West Bromwich Albion in the last game of October. Brede Hangeland and Mile Jedinak put the Selhurst Park outfit two to the good before second half goals from Victor Anichebe and Saido Berahino saw spoils shared.

October also saw defeats at the hands of Chelsea (2-1) and Hull City (2-0).

As a result of their reputation and their slightly less bad run of form, Liverpool are the 19/20 (william hill) favourites for their away clash on Sunday. A number of bookmakers are offering 7/2 on Palace picking up a win whilst a tie is available at 27/10 with bet365.

The home side will be buoyed by the returns of Jedinak and Wilfried Zaha who could both be re-called to the match-day squad after missing the Manchester United game. Warnock`s Australian captain Jedinak picked up two yellow cards in the Eagles home fixture at Sunderland and was absent for the United encounter whilst Zaha was unavailable for the tie due to the terms stated in his loan deal.

Whilst one duo could return, another could miss the game following the international break. Both James McArthur (calf) and Kevin Doyle (groin) cited injuries as reasons for withdrawing from the Scotland and Republic of Ireland squads respectively.

Liverpool will be reeling from the news that star striker Daniel Sturridge will be sidelined for a further month with his on-going thigh strain saga, though Mario Balotelli, who was pulled from the Italy squad with a groin issue, could be a like-for-like replacement. Rickie Lambert, yet to score his debut Liverpool goal, got through his England appearance without any problems and may prove to be another alternative for Rodgers.

A flaky strike force may be the best chance of the Eagles grabbing a point and are 4/1 with Spreadex to keep a clean sheet and 8/1 with Coral to win to nil.

Alternatively, Lambert can be backed at 21/10 (Betbright, betfair) to grab his first of the season, whilst Balotelli is the 7/4 (32red, 888sport, unibet) favourite to get the better of Speroni at any time.

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21/11/2014     © Frixo 2024