These two teams will want to bounce back after disappointing openings to the Premier League season. Crystal Palace played a good match but were beaten 2-0 by Arsenal, while Liverpool didn’t look like themselves in a 2-2 draw against newly promoted Fulham. The last thing that Patrick Vieira will want to deal with is an angry Liverpool team but with title rivals Manchester City already winning their first two matches of the season, Liverpool can’t afford to drop points when the league was decided by only one point last season.
Overcoming a split preseason, Vieira had six players of the senior squad play with Crystal Palace’s Premier U-21 team in a fixture against Brighton last Monday including new signing Chris Richards. He’ll hope that it improves their fitness and understanding with each other ahead of what will be an uphill battle facing Liverpool.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Monday, Aug. 15 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Anfield — Liverpool
- TV: USA | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
- Odds: Liverpool -500; Draw +525; Crystal Palace +1600 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace
Storylines
Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp already had injury concerns without Diogo Jota to begin the season and they have only grown due to Thiago picking up a thigh injury against Fulham. With Curtis Jones also sidelined, Harvey Elliott came in for Thiago, meaning it will likely be between him and Fábio Carvalho to start the match depending on if Klopp would like to move to a 4-2-3-1. To accommodate Darwin Nunez, a formation shift would make sense but he could also begin another match on the bench as Klopp looks to ease him into the Liverpool team, despite making instant impacts in the Community Shield and against Fulham. Defensively, Joe Gomez will likely partner Virgil van Dijk with Joel Matip nursing a groin injury while Ibrahima Konate has a knee injury.
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Crystal Palace: Vieira has a big injury boost with Michael Olise returning to training. He will be available for selection. It’s unlikely that he’ll start the match but even as an option off the bench, he brings a new dynamic to the Palace attack. Nathan Ferguson has suffered a setback in his recovery from an ankle injury and the match will come too soon for James McArthur. Jack Butland and James Tompkins are Palace’s long term absentees.
Prediction
Liverpool’s lack of center backs will make this quite a tough match but Darwin Nunez will bail the team out again with a goal in a third straight appearance. Pick: Liverpool 3, Crystal Palace 2
