Manchester City’s 5-0 thrashing of Burnley on Monday means that Liverpool won’t be able to wrap up the Premier League title at Anfield against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Of course, it is inevitable that Jurgen Klopp’s side will get their hands on the famous trophy in the coming weeks. But they will have to wait a little while longer to make it official.
Liverpool returned to action with a goalless – and somewhat underwhelming – draw with Merseyside rivals Everton on Sunday.
The Reds, who were without Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah, were far from their free-flowing best. But that is understandable given the three-month lay-off.
Still, Liverpool dominated possession (67%) and created plenty of goalscoring opportunities, they just couldn’t find a way past a resolute Everton defence.
The gap between the Reds and second-place Man City stands at a whopping 20 points. It’s only a matter of time before the runaway leaders secure the title.
Crystal Palace moved into the top half of the table with a comfortable 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened Bournemouth in their first game back.
First-half goals from Luka Milivojevic and Jordan Ayew sealed the win, while the Cherries offered very little resistance.
Remarkably, the Eagles are now on 42 points – just four points behind fifth-place Manchester United and sixth-place Wolves.
A positive run of results from now until the end of the season could see Roy Hodgson’s men sneak into the European places.
The head-to-head record between these two sides doesn’t look pretty for Palace. Liverpool have won their previous five Premier League meetings and have also won six of the past eight.
Wilfried Zaha thought he’d salvaged a draw for Palace in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign when he canceled out Sadio Mane’s early goal with ten minutes to go. However, there was still time for a late Roberto Firmino winner.
Looking at the team news, it’s unclear whether Robertson and Salah will be fully fit for Liverpool, while Xherdan Shaqiri remains sidelined.
As for Palace, defensive trio Martin Kelly, Jeffrey Schlupp, and James Tomkins are likely to miss the rest of the season through injury.
Following three consecutive 1-0 wins leading up to the break, it’s fair to say that Palace have picked up where they left off before the season was suspended.
The Eagles seem to have rediscovered their form, but a trip to Anfield is likely end their four-game winning streak.
Forebet predicts that Crystal Palace will score. However, Liverpool are expected to net over 2.5 goals on their way to victory.