Liverpool vs Crystal Palace preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

• Over 2.5 goals

• Both teams to score

• Liverpool to win

Liverpool have won their last two Premier League matches – bouncing back from defeat to Brighton before the March international break – to tighten their grip on fifth place.

Thanks in no small part to Chelsea's calamitous collapse, the Reds may only be a couple of positive results away from securing a Champions League spot for next season.

They are fifth in the Premier League table and five points clear of Brighton & Hove Albion with a game in hand.

A third win on the bounce could open up an eight-point gap to sixth-place with four games remaining, though the Reds will have eyes on finishing as high as possible with both Manchester United and Aston Villa in striking distance.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace’s attentions may be elsewhere with a Conference League semi-final first leg against Shakhtar Donetsk on the horizon, as they travel to Poland five days after their Anfield trip.

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. 

Since 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.

Liverpool are on a run of four games without a win against Crystal Palace. They are winless in their last three Premier League home games against the Eagles (D2L1), having previously won five in a row against them at Anfield.

Following their 2-1 win in September at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace are looking to complete the double over Liverpool for just the third time, after 1991-92 and 2014-15.

Liverpool Premier League form: 🟩🟥🟧🟥🟩🟩

Liverpool form (all competitions): 🟥🟥🟥🟩🟥🟩

Crystal Palace Premier League form: 🟩🟥🟩🟧🟩🟧

Crystal Palace form (all competitions): 🟧🟩🟩🟩🟥🟧

Giorgi Mamardashvili is set to miss out with a knee injury that forced him off in the second half against Everton, opening the door for Freddie Woodman to make his first full Premier League start for Liverpool.

Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are long-term absentees, and it remains to be seen whether Joe Gomez's muscular problem lets up in time for Saturday.

Glasner has said he expects to have Adam Wharton back after the midfielder missed the goalless draw against West Ham through injury.

Eddie Nketiah will not feature, having been ruled out for the remainder of the season, while Evan Guessand and Cheick Doucoure are expected to miss out too.

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

Crystal Palace: Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Lacroix; Munoz, Hughes, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Johnson; Mateta

This is a tough one to call as Crystal Palace are unbeaten against Liverpool this season and they’ve played each other three times in all competitions.

That run stretches to four when including the meeting on the final day of last season, but both teams are at very different stages of their respective campaigns.

Liverpool need a win to keep the pressure on Man United and Villa, while Palace’s focus, understandably, is the Conference League semi-final. For those reasons, we expect the hosts to finally record a win over the Eagles.

Correct score prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Crystal Palace