Team News
Liverpool are fielding an experimental team, most of regular starters given the night off. Milos Kerkez, seeking to improve match sharpness, is the only player to start again after the loss at Brentford last weekend. Backup shot-stopper Woodman and 18-year-old Northern Ireland winger Kieran Morrison earn maiden appearances, while the team also boasts 17-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha and teenage midfielder the playmaker. None of the substitutes is over 21; the substitute is the reserve with senior exposure with nine matches on his resumé.
The London club by contrast field six from the team deployed for the 1-0 defeat at the Gunners on Sunday. Marc Guéhi, Maxence Lacroix, Muñoz, Ismaïla Sarr, Pino and Daichi Kamada all hold onto their shirts. Sarr has a handful of strikes against this opponent in eight games for both clubs, while one of the players coming into the side, the striker, scored the winner when the teams clashed at Selhurst last month.
Match Squads
The Reds: Woodman, Calvin Ramsay, The youngster, Joe Gomez, Andy Robertson, Endo, Kerkez, Morrison, The playmaker, Ngumoha, Federico Chiesa.
Reserves: Pecsi, Kaide Gordon, Pilling, The talent, Pinnington, Figueroa, Nallo, Lucky, Laffey.
Crystal Palace: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lacroix, The defender, Munoz, Hughes, Kamada, Borna Sosa, The attacker, Pino, Eddie Nketiah.
Reserves: Dean Henderson, Mitchell, The midfielder, Uche, The forward, Clyne, Esse, Devenny, Cardines.
Match referee: The referee (The region).
Preamble
The Merseysiders have often struggled against Crystal Palace as tricky foes. Not invariably – they lead the head-to-head – but when the London club overcome the hosts, they really hit, and hit hard. Their 1990 cup meeting. Crystanbul. The pre-season match. The recent encounter that precipitated this dramatic downturn of Liverpool’s title-winning team, Liverpool’s first loss in a sequence of five in six.
Consider another set of results into the mix. Of the previous fixtures between the clubs, Palace have triumphed three times (we’re counting the season opener as a win), the home side just two. More concerning the Merseyside club are the latest outcomes at their home ground: The visitors have secured a win and two draws of the last three. The Eagles have a distinct advantage over tonight’s hosts at the moment.
Despite this, Palace are in a poor run of their own. They have suffered three defeats of their last four matches in various cups, not securing a win domestically since that earlier described slump-starting visit of Liverpool to their home. So here are both clubs who need a bolt of season-reviving energy. This factor should give us a good possibility of some entertaining action tonight, though any season-defining impact may hinge on what teams the two managers decide to select; they’re unlikely to be full-strength teams. We will see about that shortly. Kick-off is at 19:45 GMT. The action is about to start!
