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Having been caught late seven times across his last three league starts, Jefferson Lerma has been on the end of his fair share of rough challenges. Palace’s defensive midfielder is renowned for tough tackling of his own but an average of 1.2 fouls won per 90 this season demonstrates that his opponents have often been provoked into giving him a taste of his own medicine. 

Liverpool’s midfield trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz will provide plenty of physical duels for Lerma in the middle of the park having committed 2.99 offences per 90 between them. Central midfielders against the hosts have been fouled 24 times across their last six games and so in a key area for Reds fouls, Lerma should force at least one.

With Hugo Ekitike on the sidelines for a while, Liverpool need their other attacking options to step up and Cody Gakpo gave it a good go against Everton, working the goalkeeper on three occasions. The Dutchman has been criticised by the Anfield faithful for his poor form this season but having hit the target seven times in his last six matches, he’s clearly fired up to prove he still has it. 

Palace’s energy sapping season is starting to take its toll and they looked shattered on Monday night against West Ham. The Eagles have conceded 4.6 shots on target per game on the road this season and with their attention on the Europa Conference League, a highly motivated Gakpo can make them pay. 

Crystal Palace make the journey to Anfield on Saturday afternoon, and Liverpool fans will not be looking forward to this matchup.

The Eagles have been a bogey opponent for the Reds this season, having beaten them in the Community Shield final, in the reverse fixture at Selhurst Park, and in the EFL Cup. Ismaila Sarr bagged himself a brace in the latter game, and he has an incredible record against Liverpool in this head-to-head matchup. 

The Senegalese international has started five games against the Reds across his career, and he has scored in four of those.

That includes a first-half brace in the EFL Cup back in October. Even though Arne Slot opted for a rotated eleven in that game, Sarr has shown he can cause problems against the top sides - he has 17 goals and one assist to his name after 36 appearances across all competitions this season. 

The first head-to-head meeting between these sides this season came in the Community Shield back in August - it finished 2-2 in regular time, before the Eagles prevailed in the penalty shootout. They got the job done in 90 minutes at Selhurst Park in the league, coming away with a 2-1 win against Liverpool, before then winning 3-0 at Anfield in the EFL Cup.

Arne Slot opted for a heavily rotated side in that final game, but Palace have emerged as a bit of a bogey opponent for Liverpool over the years, so will hope to cause problems on Merseyside once again here. However, the Reds are in good form, following back-to-back wins, and they will need to keep pushing for points.

With just five league games remaining this season, they are three points behind Aston Villa and Man United, so still have plenty to play for. This should be quite an open game as both sides will fancy their chances of taking three points. 

Ismaila Sarr had plenty of success on his last trip to Anfield - he bagged himself a first-half brace, and was substituted after just 62 minutes, so was unable to complete his hat-trick. However, the Senegalese international had plenty of chances before that - he recorded five shots, and they all hit the target. That wasn’t against Liverpool’s strongest eleven, and they were in a poor run of form during that period back in October, but Sarr has an excellent record against the Reds, and he will want to punish them again. 

Sarr has scored in each of his last four meetings against Liverpool, including in this fixture last season on Merseyside. He had two shots in that game, and both hit the target. In fact, the 28-year-old has started five games against Liverpool across his career - he has landed this bet in all of those games, and has also scored five goals.

Arne Slot opted for an unusual setup in that EFL Cup game against Palace, with both Milos Kerkez and Andy Robertosn in the starting eleven. The Hungarian international featured in a wingback role, staying very wide to the touchline, while Robertson was more of a left-sided centre back - the Scottish international was tasked primarily with dealing with Sarr, and was given a tough time. Robertson recorded three infringements, and was booked. Expecting Liverpool to go with a more standard 4-3-2-1 setup, Kerkez should have to deal with Sarr here, which is a matchup to keep an eye on. 

Kerkez is averaging 0.87 fouls per 90 across all competitions, but he has shown a tendency to be quite rash and clumsy in his challenges, especially when playing against more technical opponents. Sarr is a player who always looks to drive at his marker, and he sees plenty of involvement out wide, which should bring Kerkez into the game often.