Our matches with this lot tend to go from one extreme to the other. One game we tear them a new arse, then next they beat us. Palace annoys us more than a dose of the shits, and they have proven to be a big pain in the arse for many years for many reasons.
They have every reason to want to stick it to us, given that the most memorable meeting most will remember would be a midweek match in 1989 held on a balmy Tuesday evening, having been promoted for the first time for the best part of a decade, Palace were well and truly battered by Liverpool 9 goals to nil. 8 different scorers including John Aldridge who played his last game for the club that night, Aldridge famously threw his jersey into the Kop at the end of the game.
All Time Head 2 Head
It was quite remarkable that several months later Palace would overturn Liverpool in an FA Cup Semi Final, Liverpool were firm favourites to win a league and FA cup double but wilted in the face of London Bombings that came in the shape of set pieces and balls pumped into the box that our defence couldn’t deal with, not much has changed then. Liverpool twice lead the match which ended up in extra time but the current Palace manager Alan Pardew settled a dramatic tie with the winner in a 4-3 thriller.
Palace did a surprise double over us in the 1991-2 season and in the first season of Premier league football we decided we would dish out another savage beating, Liverpool were under the stewardship of Graeme Souness, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses believe me but one late November weekend gave a glimpse into how things were supposed to be under our former captain, the return from injury of John Barnes blended well with a very youthful Liverpool side on the day that ran out 5-0 winners, the pick of the bunch came with a 35 yard screamer from Mike Marsh, but just a few days later Palace showed just what a thorn in our side they could be.
Recent Meetings
Marsh was again on the scoresheet but this time it was only good enough to take the game to a replay in a league cup tie with the match ending 1-1. Palace would go on to win the replay 2-1 only two weeks after their 5-0 drubbing, a thorn in our side? Well ironically enough the winning goal was scored by Andy Thorn.
It would be a while before they got one over us again, having been relegated the same season (1992-3) Palace would return after one season out of the top flight but would end up going down again, not helped by Liverpool trouncing the Londoners 6-1 on the opening day of the season, for good measure Liverpool’s league cup success that year saw us win both semi-final legs against Palace when the two sides met again.
The next notable fixtures came in another successful league cup campaign in 2001, again it was one extreme to the other, with Michael Owen missing several chances Palace won the first leg 2-1 with striker Clinton Morrison gloating in the press after about his goal and what he would have done if presented with Owen’s missed chances, all that came back to haunt him in the second leg, where Palace lost 5-0!
Premiership Form Guide
But to continue the theme, Palace would gain revenge in years to come, an FA cup win at Anfield in 2003 was followed by a league cup success over us in 2005, it would be nearly 8 years before Palace came near us again and during the 2013/4 season Liverpool went top of the table after both matches against Palace but the circumstances were very much different.
The first fixture at Anfield saw Liverpool out of sight by half time with goals from Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard which resulted in a 3-1 win, but although Palace didn’t defeat us in the return game, the draw they achieved that night was one of the most costly in our history.
Liverpool went into the night level on points with Man City at the top of the league but with each team having just two matches left, however City’s goal difference was 9 better off than Liverpool’s, having scored almost 100 league goals already that season Liverpool knew a big haul was needed if they were to have any chance of nullifying City’s advantage. Liverpool threw caution to the wind and found themselves 3-0 up inside the hour mark, it could have been double. Desperate to make up the goal difference Liverpool went for broke and proceeded to lose it all. The score remained 3-0 with 11 minutes remaining but from there a wickedly deflected shot from Damien Delaney turned the tide and two further goals from substitute Dwight Gayle meant the game ended 3-3. Although Liverpool would point to the defeat to Chelsea prior to this as the day the tide turned against them in the title race there is no doubt that this was the final nail in the coffin and any chance Liverpool had of winning the league was realistically gone on that fateful Monday night.
Palace have continued to haunt us ever since, the same fixture the following season saw them win 3-1, and just for badness they ruined the last home game of Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool career, the Liverpool captain got an emotional send-off but Palace spoiled the party by coming from behind to win 3-1 again although to be fair Liverpool’s display didn’t warrant one point never mind three.
Palace’s winning streak was raised to 3 earlier in the season, shortly into Jurgen Klopp’s reign, Yannick Bolasie, a constant menace in our most recent games with Palace, scored the opener and though Philippe Coutinho equalized, Palace won the match thanks to a late goal from boyhood Liverpool fan Scott Dann.
Current Injuries
This means going into this game, Liverpool have won only three out of the last 11 matches with this lot, although Palace’s recent form has been quite alarming. The Londoners started the season well, climbing as high as 2nd in the league and hovering around the top 6 in the first half of the season but since Christmas, Palace have not won any of their 11 league games and have lost 4 in a row at Selhurst Park, whilst on Tuesday they were denied their first win of the year in the league when former red Fabio Borini equalised in a 2-2 draw at Sunderland.
Ones to watch:
Connor Wickham: 4 goals in his last 2 games
Emmanuel Adebayor: recent signing with just one goal so far but has scored against us in the past for both Arsenal and Spurs.
Yannick Bolasie: pace has troubled us in recent seasons, perhaps no coincidence his recent injury coincided with his teams loss of form
Martin Kelly: former right back with a point to prove against us, recently returned from injury with a goal at Spurs
Scott Dann: joint highest league scorer for them despite being a centre back, will cause aerial problems, match winner at Anfield.
Liverpool will see this as a poisonous fixture but given the form guide there will never be a better time to play Palace, Liverpool’s win over Man City not only saw them recover well after losing the league cup final to the same team but it gave Jurgen Klopp some food for thought in terms of team selection. Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho are likely to return but the trio of Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana and James Milner won’t make that an easy decision, all 3 registered a goal and assist on Wednesday. The result also lifted Liverpool to within 6 points of the top 4.
Liverpool’s injury crisis is starting to lighten up, Martin Skrtel was an unused sub on Wednesday, but may have to bide his time after Kolo Toure and the returning Dejan Lovren helped Liverpool to a clean sheet against City whilst Jon Flanagan should get the nod over Alberto Moreno with perhaps the only question there is which side will they line up on given Clyne operated at left back and Flanagan right back against Man City.
Given the fillip of the Man City win on Wednesday maybe it’s time we dished out one of them beatings to Palace again, lord knows it’s been a while.
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