Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the English Premier League match.
The season has only just started, yet this is already the second meeting between FA Cup holders Crystal Palace and champions Liverpool. Their first came in the FA Community Shield, where the hosts won a penalty shoot-out (3:2). The question is whether the visitors can atone for that defeat.
Crystal Palace
Doing so away from home is much harder, but Liverpool look to be dealing with challenges well. Since then, it has been seven straight victories and top spot in the English Premier League. Crystal Palace have not had it quite so smooth, but compared with the start of last season this is already a very different team. In 2024/25, by late September the team had not won a single match — three draws and two defeats — and they claimed their first victory only in Matchweek 9. How did the Austrian Oliver Glasner keep his job? Now Crystal Palace sit fifth in the standings, unbeaten and with only two goals conceded.
Liverpool
Liverpool have actually conceded more (five), but the squad are scoring two or more (an average of 2.2 per game). The exceptions were the matches against Arsenal and Burnley (both 1:0), where they scored in the final 10 minutes. After those, Liverpool played three home matches across different competitions at Anfield. All were won by a single goal. In two of them, they scored late winners again.
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool Prediction
Two Liverpool trends are likely to hold against Crystal Palace. First, the team should not concede more than once; second, if they score, it will probably come late, drawing on experience and composure. Therefore, we are backing the hosts not to lose the first half.
