Crystal Palace vs Liverpool Betting Tips (25/02/23) – Reds Must Bounce Back Quickly from Euro Trash

Jurgen Klopp has sensationally claimed ‘the tie is over’ after watching Liverpool succumb to a 2-5 defeat against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening in the Champions League last 16. The first leg result means that the Reds will need to win by a three-goal margin just to force the contest into extra time – the away goals rule has been abolished, remember, so perhaps Klopp has a point.

It was another case of what might have been for Liverpool, who started in electric fashion to goal two-nil up after just 14 minutes. Darwin Nunez, as enterprising as ever, put the Reds ahead with a clever individual goal, before Mo Salah doubled the advantage when he made the most of Thibaut Courtois’ error.

Had Nunez or Salah converted excellent chances in the 25th minute then this tie could have gone so differently, but they didn’t and individual errors – which continue to undermine Liverpool’s season – allowed the Galacticos back into the game.

There was nothing Alisson could do about Vinicius Junior’s sublime opener for Real, but the second was all the Brazilian’s fault as he lazily crashed a clearance into his compatriot. In a metaphor for Liverpool’s season, the ball spun wildly into their net.

Eder Militao was given the freedom of Anfield to head home Real’s third, before a trademark brace from Karim Benzema has appeared to end the Reds’ hopes for a deep run in the Champions League.

Afterwards, Klopp claimed that his team gave away all five of Madrid’s goals, and while that’s somewhat harsh there’s no doubt that Liverpool’s efforts were once again hamstrung by defensive woes. They won the xG count 2.21-1.59, after all.

Perhaps a return to Premier League action will foster better feelings in the camp. Crystal Palace will be lively opponents, however, in Saturday’s tea time kick-off.

Liverpool Team News

Klopp had the demeanour of a rather irate figure at the end of the game on Tuesday, and so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if changes were forthcoming for the trip to London.

He may have to give Joe Gomez the night off anyway – he limped off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury against Real, with Joel Matip the only viable replacement with Ibrahima Konate still out.

Fabinho was once again one of Liverpool’s weakest performers, and you wonder if Harvey Elliott or perhaps even James Milner will come into the midfield against Palace.

There hasn’t been a great deal wrong with the Reds’ attacking play of late, so assuming Nunez is okay – he’s been nursing a shoulder complaint for the past week – then it will the Uruguayan alongside Salah and Cody Gakpo in attack once more, you suspect.

Crystal Palace Form

Although they’re sitting comfortably in mid-table, Crystal Palace are six points clear of the relegation zone in the Premier League and 12 points off the top six – it’s clear where their priorities need to lie for the rest of the campaign.

The Eagles haven’t won since New Year’s Eve, although draws against Manchester United, Newcastle, Brighton and Brentford at least offer an insight into how tough they are to beat.

Incidentally, Crystal Palace haven’t beaten Liverpool since 2017, with a run of ten straight defeats against the Reds halted in the 1-1 draw at Anfield back in August.

Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips

If you believe in the virtues of Expected Goals, you would surmise that Crystal Palace’s formline would look a whole lot worse based upon the chances created and yielded.

Patrick Vieira’s men were stuffed, from an xG perspective, in those stalemates against Brighton, Newcastle and Man Utd, and on another day they might have walked away with zero points rather than the three they did manage to amass.

That’s good news for Liverpool, whose own underlying data has been better since the start of February, and so the Reds should be fancied to extend their long hoodoo over the Eagles on Saturday.

It was a surprise to see odds of 8/11 available on a Liverpool victory then, with the Asian handicap line of -0.75 also a decent option around the even money mark.

Palace have only kept one clean sheet in 2023, and that came despite Newcastle rattling up 1.78 in xG in that particular encounter.

And so there’s no harm in taking Liverpool to score two or more goals at 8/11 either. There’s been no issues in an attacking sense for them of late.