Thursday, March 28, 2024

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool on Sky: Ayew back for Palace

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Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Crystal Palace vs Liverpool in the Premier League on Super Sunday; kick-off 2pm.

Team news

Crystal Palace will welcome Jordan Ayew back into the fold for Sunday’s clash with Liverpool in the Premier League.

Ayew returned from the Africa Cup of Nations this week following a shock early exit for Ghana and boss Patrick Vieira confirmed he will be part of the squad for the fixture at Selhurst Park.

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Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira confirms striker Christian Benteke will not be sold during the transfer window and is part of his long-term plans at the club

Cheikhou Kouyate and Wilfried Zaha remain in Cameroon on international duty for the tournament while James McArthur and James Tomkins are still absent due to injuries.

Liverpool forward Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could return to the squad after missing the Carabao Cup semi-final victory at Arsenal with a twisted ankle.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he is more than happy with the progress of goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and that he has developed in to a top-class ‘keeper

Midfielder Fabinho is expected to shake off the effects of a heavy tackle which saw Thomas Partey sent off for a second yellow card.

Forward Harvey Elliott returned to training this week after more than four months out with a serious ankle problem but will not be in contention until after the international break.

Also See:

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A look at some of the key statistics ahead of Matchweek 23 in the Premier League

How to follow

Sunday 23rd January 1:00pm Kick off 2:00pm

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 1pm; kick-off 2pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

Last time out…

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Free to watch: Highlights from Brighton’s 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace in the Premier League

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool’s win over Brentford

Jones Knows prediction

Liverpool won’t be the only team at Selhurst Park missing crucial inside forwards.

Palace are without Wilfried Zaha and although their drop-off in terms of overall performance isn’t as drastic as Liverpool’s without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, it certainly has an effect on Palace’s ability to win corners. That’s my angle in for this game.

Jordan Ayew and Zaha offer Palace plenty of direct-line dribbling that gets them to the byline to force corners. Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze are two talents, but both are completely different types of players that like to cut inside and get into central positions. Without Ayew and Zaha, Palace failed to win a corner at Brighton – and considering Palace don’t play with any aggressive width from their full-backs either, their corner-count is likely to be very low in this game, too. Liverpool only concede an average of 3.1 corners per 90 minutes – the joint-best record along with Manchester City.

Without Salah and Mane, Liverpool may take longer than usual to break through teams so the pressure on the Palace goal could be more sustained, therefore increasing the likelihood of Liverpool’s corners. Sky Bet have set the handicap corner line at four, meaning Liverpool will need to win five or more corners than Palace for the bet to cop at 11/8. That looks fair enough to me.

SCORE PREDICTION: 0-1

BETTING ANGLE: Liverpool (-4.0) on the corner handicap (11/8 with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

Crystal Palace have lost each of their last nine Premier League games against Liverpool, since a 2-1 win at Anfield in April 2017. Their last four defeats have been by an aggregate score of 16-0.
Liverpool have won their last six Premier League away games against Crystal Palace, netting 19 goals in these meetings including a 7-0 victory in this exact fixture last season.
Liverpool haven’t won any of their last four Premier League games in London (D3 L1), with the Reds last having a longer winless league run in the capital between November 2014 and October 2015 (5).
Crystal Palace have won two of their last three Premier League games against sides starting the day in the top three of the table (L1), beating Spurs 3-0 and Man City 2-0 this season. The Eagles had won just one of their previous 24 such games in the competition (D6 L17).
Crystal Palace are yet to lose consecutive Premier League home games under Patrick Vieira, last doing so in May of last season under Roy Hodgson (against Chelsea and Manchester City).
After keeping a clean sheet in four of their first five Premier League away games this season, Liverpool have conceded at least once in five of their last six on the road, shipping nine goals in total in this run.
Starting with a brace in this exact fixture last season, each of Roberto Firmino’s last 10 Premier League goals for Liverpool have all come away from home. In the competition’s history, only three players have had a longer run of goals without any coming at home – Ryan Giggs (13 between 2001 and 2003), Harry Kane (13 between May-September 2017) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (11 between January-April 2002).
Conor Gallagher has been directly involved in 10 Premier League goals in 18 appearances for Crystal Palace this season (7 goals, 3 assists), reaching 10 goals/assists in the second-fewest games of any Eagles player in Premier League history, behind only Andrew Johnson in 2004-05 (17 appearances).
Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has 42 Premier League assists, six more than any other player (team-mate Andrew Robertson, 36). He has 10 assists this season and is one of only 12 players to have assisted 10+ goals in as many as three different Premier League seasons, having set up 12 goals in 2018-19 and 13 in 2019-20 previously.
Takumi Minamino has scored two goals in his last five Premier League appearances for Liverpool, having netted just one in his first 21 for the Reds. His last two goals have been from the bench, with his only league goal as a starter for Liverpool coming in their 7-0 win at Crystal Palace last season.

Premier League Preview: Conte’s Spurs to crack Chelsea code? Man Utd momentum? Watford-Norwich six-pointer

The Essential Football Podcast returns as host Alice Piper is joined by Charlotte Marsh and Ben Grounds to preview another captivating round of Premier League games which could have ramifications at both ends of the table.

PART ONE | After their dramatic, late victory at Leicester, the panel assess whether Antonio Conte’s Tottenham can crack the Stamford Bridge code and haul Chelsea back into the wide open race for the top four

PART TWO | Cristiano Ronaldo’s tantrum stole the headlines but having bounced back at Brentford have Ralf Rangnick and Man Utd built enough momentum to capitalise on the West Ham fragilities exposed by Leeds and boost their top-four chances? Plus: with an 11-point lead at the summit, can champions Man City afford to take their foot of the gas at Southampton?

PART THREE | An archetypal relegation six-pointer kicks off the Premier League weekend as Watford host Norwich on Friday – but which club is best placed to seize the initiative? Plus: tasked with steadying the ship for the second time in three years, can Duncan Ferguson galvanise Everton ahead of the visit of Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa?

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