Topic: Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Sunday January 23 - Match Preview

[Schmarn]

I think Ali, Konate and Taki will come in. You could make a case for Tsimikas too but the club will know which players need a rest. Long two week gap to Cardiff after this so would be brilliant to go into that closing the gap on City.

Is it just South America (and AFCON) internationals?

Should be full strength for our next league game with Mo, Sadio, Naby, Thiago and Harvey back. Fuck knows where Divock is.

[Morgana]

JUST WIN.

[Ghost Town]

Into these, Reds

[thisyearisouryear]

A win would be huge today! Cuts down the deficit from City to 2 games.

[rob1966]

That fucking tool Ian Wright accuses those of us with no interest in the AFCON of racism, no you fucking prick, its because we are missing some of the best players in our team for a vital game, that is why I have no time for ANY tournament mid season.

Anyway, rant over, let's just get all 3pts today, don't care about the way it's done, let's just bring them back.

[Raid]

Abu Dhabi have left the door very slightly ajar. Three points required to take advantage, keep winning, let’s see where it takes us

[William Regal]

Big game, gonna be a battle no doubt, think Minamino and Konate will start, I'll go for an ugly 1-0 win, Minamino to score.

[keyop]

That fucking tool Ian Wright accuses those of us with no interest in the AFCON of racism, no you fucking prick, its because we are missing some of the best players in our team for a vital game, that is why I have no time for ANY tournament mid season.

I think he's been referring to people who are questioning why it's going ahead, and why its held in January. I think his underlying point is that many who think it should be cancelled wouldn't say the same thing about the Euros or World Cup. The questions around timing also demonstrate a lack of awareness of climate and how this would affect games. The inference from some people is that Afcon is somehow less important (or more disposable) than other tournaments, which is where the racism aspect comes in.

Wright is one of the better pundits out there - always tells it how he sees it, and has always been complimentary about us. He's one of the good guys.

[Legs]

Ian Wright is wrong.

Copa America shouldnt have gone ahead they should have used it for WC games.

Euros imo shouldnt have gone ahead a world pandemic yep lets stage it in 5-7 countries really smart.

Rob is right NO CLUB should lose any players mid season its just wrong.

ACFON/Copa seems to be every two years it should be four.

I can speak for myself I wont watch any of that farce in Qatar next season.

[Dr. Beaker]

I'm with 4pool, something felt different with the Arsenal game and he put his finger on it. The mentality monsters are back. It might be a bit early to say definitively, but that's how it feels to me. A twenty yard toey from Matip would do it for me.

[Legs]

I think Ali, Konate and Taki will come in. You could make a case for Tsimikas too but the club will know which players need a rest. Long two week gap to Cardiff after this so would be brilliant to go into that closing the gap on City.

Is it just South America (and AFCON) internationals?

Should be full strength for our next league game with Mo, Sadio, Naby, Thiago and Harvey back. Fuck knows where Divock is.

Asian teams play too so we'd lose Minamino and I assume Spurs lose Son etc.

[John C]

Thanks for the OP Sheer mate.
Despite having confidence in those Reds it's become normal to worry about every game hasn't it?

I'm thinking 0-2 today, Bobby and Jota to net again.

Wright is one of the better pundits out there - always tells it how he sees it, and has always been complimentary about us. He's one of the good guys.

This is exactly right.

[the_red_pill]

Said this while back and sofar it's been true.
Now let's get to work on these today!

It's not about just who wins the title. Many barely had us at 4th, despite knowing we had signed Konate, we were getting back all of VVD, Matip and Gomez etc. and that we also had plenty of other injuries last season. Still, we finished 3rd. I mean we had one of the most injury ravaged seasons in  PL history, still finished 3rd and then we got our injured players back, but they thought we'd finish 4th or less. I mean, I don't know if it's their nerves, or their brain.

Yep, all over- they mostly had us in 4th. No respect at all. No real common sense or reasons why the likes of Chelsea and United would be challenging for the title, while Liverpool had a title-winning squad and manager, a squad that knows this league in and out, and who had won the league the year before last, would not be able to challenge.
How could we not challenge when it could be argued that even though we supposedly had "little depth", we were more settled and had a squad that was a bit better than when we won the league?

It seemed to me the clearest indication of bias, because they just outright dismissed Liverpool everywhere.
They're all licking their lips in anticipation of the AFCON, but we're prepared for them. It's going to be a rude awakening when they realize we've got enough firepower and the midfield and defensive springboard to cope well enough!

[DangerScouse]

Yeah, I've a huge amount of respect for Ian Wright.

I'm not expecting many changes today.

[the_red_pill]

Jota and Firminho are enough to put these to the sword, but I feel Mina will flourish here today if he gets the chance, which is prolly beyond doubt. He'll get the space he needs to shine.

That spine of Allison, VVD, Fabinho and Firminho should be enough to keep these at bay and on their toes. All part of the defense from back to front, with an attacking edge.

I'd like to see Guardiola sweat some more after yesterday!
https://twitter.com/TWDTV1/status/1484978001704067073

[the_red_pill]

Yeah, I've a huge amount of respect for Ian Wright.

I'm not expecting many changes today.

Yeah Wrighty is okay in my book. Has a lot of time for us and always been rooting for us lately. He usually thinks before he speaks so you're at least sure he's not trying to be controversial on purpose.

[Red Beret]

The thing about Wright is that he can be wrong, or you can disagree with him, but still (mostly) respect his opinion. He clearly has passion for the game, likes Liverpool a lot, and isn't interested in clickbait one liners solely designed to wind rival fans up. Unless maybe it's Tottenham.

You compare him to others who just come out with the most brazen bullshit, or just look to deflect and stroke a club's ego, and you see he doesn't have an agenda.

[jillcwhomever]

That fucking tool Ian Wright accuses those of us with no interest in the AFCON of racism, no you fucking prick, its because we are missing some of the best players in our team for a vital game, that is why I have no time for ANY tournament mid season.

Anyway, rant over, let's just get all 3pts today, don't care about the way it's done, let's just bring them back.

Any chance you can supply the actual report where he is accusing those with no interest of AFCON as being racist? I've read two reports and in those he is mostly critical of the media's coverage. He certainly doesn't mention those with no interest about AFCON of being racist. It would be hugely against Wright's character to have said the above.

[NarutoReds]

Just to add more posts as the match day thread is quite quiet. Hehehehe...  Thank you for a great and tremendous opening post, "Sheer Magnetism".

Okay, West Ham (Antonio and Lanzini) beat them with two centre-backs of Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen so if they are playing the same combo again, we might have a chance to penetrate their defence.

BUT IF, IF... Resting the players or rotation to avoid injuries comes to mind, we might see Minamino, Konate or Neco Williams is / are being fielded.

That is going to change the dynamic of our game a bit but it is so refreshing to see IF the Welsh international is being given a chance to be in action for Premier League game.

He can't be that bad.   

[Ciara (with a capital "C")]

Can’t see why we would be resting players with a 2 week break on the horizon, unless certain players are in the red zone in terms of tiredness and susceptibility to picking up an injury.

I hope we are full strength, would be happy to see Jones start another game and Taki come in for Gordon.

If we apply ourselves and are anything near our best then we should have too much for Palace. I don’t want to get into one of those mad games where we can’t kill a game, they entice us into a back and forth and the crowd are suddenly up and it’s harder than it needs to be. Would love to see us just get a hold of that game early and control it.

Last one without Sadio, Naby and Mo - let’s just get the win banked. Especially after the City result yesterday.

[xbugawugax]

think our front 3 should be  jota, bobby and taki. Would prefer origi or ox but unfortunately both of them are injured. Rest of the team picks itself.

Alisson, AA, konate, VVD, robbo, fab, hendo, curtis, jota, bobby, taki would be my bet.

Lets hope we put up a good performance. Just a lingering feeling and hoping the officiating just doesnt fuck us up over. We all know how competent those c*nts with the whistle are.

[keyop]

A belated thanks for the OP - always appreciate posters taking the time to set the scene.

I think there's signs that we're building some momentum lately - working hard as a team, coping with injuries/covid/Afcon, the togetherness, plus the massive morale boost of a Cup final to look forward to. City finally dropping some points is also a plus, and I think Klopp and the players will be right up for this.

We've done far better during Afcon than the doom-mongers predicted, and a win here would close the gap and make the international break a great chance to gather ourselves for a full-on assault on all four trophies over the coming months.

We also could have as many as 8 players back in the squad by the time we play our next league game (9 if Divock ever finishes his dissertation), which bodes really well for the business end of the season.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

That fucking tool Ian Wright accuses those of us with no interest in the AFCON of racism, no you fucking prick, its because we are missing some of the best players in our team for a vital game, that is why I have no time for ANY tournament mid season.

Anyway, rant over, let's just get all 3pts today, don't care about the way it's done, let's just bring them back.

I've got no interest in it because it's in a region of the world that I have no interest in.

I also don't give a shiny shite about the American games or any footy outside Europe.

Because I live here.

Ian Wright is a decent bloke most of the time, but comes out with some shite on occasion.

[jonnypb]

I think he's been referring to people who are questioning why it's going ahead, and why its held in January. I think his underlying point is that many who think it should be cancelled wouldn't say the same thing about the Euros or World Cup. The questions around timing also demonstrate a lack of awareness of climate and how this would affect games. The inference from some people is that Afcon is somehow less important (or more disposable) than other tournaments, which is where the racism aspect comes in.

Wright is one of the better pundits out there - always tells it how he sees it, and has always been complimentary about us. He's one of the good guys.

Yeah I quite like wrighty, one of the better ones, but don’t really agree with his remarks. I do t think the euros should have gone ahead, just like I think it’s ludicrous that the WC is being played in Dec and shouldn’t be happening, none of that is to do with racism.

Anyway back on topic, just win anyway you can, today is huge with city dropping points.

[PatriotScouser]

Palace won't be an easy game as they are a very competitive team under Vieira. First goal will be huge as I think it'll be a tight scoreline. I think 2-1 to us. But Palace have some ballers.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

I think he's been referring to people who are questioning why it's going ahead, and why its held in January. I think his underlying point is that many who think it should be cancelled wouldn't say the same thing about the Euros or World Cup. The questions around timing also demonstrate a lack of awareness of climate and how this would affect games. The inference from some people is that Afcon is somehow less important (or more disposable) than other tournaments, which is where the racism aspect comes in.

Wright is one of the better pundits out there - always tells it how he sees it, and has always been complimentary about us. He's one of the good guys.

If that's his point then he's dead wrong.

I personally would love the World Cup and the Euros to fuck themselves and stop happening.

I support LFC. The Internationals are just a load of shite to detract from actual football.

They can get to fuck. And that includes Ingerlund.

If he's talking about racism, he should be having a go at Ingerlund fans who are far and away the most racist dickheads I've met. Just look at their behaviour in every game.

Fuck the English football team, fuck the World Cup, fuck the Euros, AFCON, that American shite and get the game back to just club footy.

[BOBSCOUSE]

3 points before we go into the break please - we seem to lose momentum after a period without games so getting the points on the board is massive this time.  Hopefully Mane and Mo back immediately after will give us the boost to pick up where we left off.

[RyanBabel19]

Can see Jota scoring again today, hopefully we go strong and get the game won.

I'd stick with Jones at CM, let him build more momentum.

Do we know if Elliott could make the squad for this or is it too soon?

[Jm55]

If that's his point then he's dead wrong.

I personally would love the World Cup and the Euros to fuck themselves and stop happening.

I support LFC. The Internationals are just a load of shite to detract from actual football.

They can get to fuck. And that includes Ingerlund.

If he's talking about racism, he should be having a go at Ingerlund fans who are far and away the most racist dickheads I've met. Just look at their behaviour in every game.

Fuck the English football team, fuck the World Cup, fuck the Euros, AFCON, that American shite and get the game back to just club footy.

I don’t think it’s directed at you though mate.

It’s directed at the numerous xenophobic journalists and pundits that exist in this country (and probably throughout the western world) who see things from Africa as of less value.

He’s not targeting football fans who genuinely would probably rather it didn’t go ahead due to selfish reasons, that’s just part of tribalism of football.

[vicar]

Ox and Jones both starting. Which do we think is playing further forward, or is this a different shape with a front two?

[rocco]

Alisson,Trent , Matip, Van Dijk, Robbo, Henderson, Fabinho, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Firmino, Jota

Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Tsimikas, Morton, Konate, Williams, Miner, Minamino, Gordon

[rocco]

Guaita, Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Gallagher, Hughes, Schlupp, Olise, Édouard, Mateta

Subs: Butland, Ayew, Clyne, Kelly, Ferguson, Riedewald, Eze, Milivojevic, Benteke

[ToneLa]

[HardworkDedication]

Ox and Jones both starting. Which do we think is playing further forward, or is this a different shape with a front two?

Exactly how we lined up against Brentford with Jones in midfield and Oxlade-Chamberlain as a wide forward on the right

[xbugawugax]

thats as strong as a line up that we could get.

great to see morton and gordon on the bench.

hope to see curtis having a goodish game and ox of course after the injuries he had.

[Caligula?]

That's a good team and the best we can probably put out right now.

[Sarge]

Let's go boys.

[ToneLa]

Diogoalllllllll to score

[ElDuderino]

I've got no interest in it because it's in a region of the world that I have no interest in.

I also don't give a shiny shite about the American games or any footy outside Europe.

Because I live here.

Ian Wright is a decent bloke most of the time, but comes out with some shite on occasion.

The world is inherently racist. Your not being racist doesn't make that statement untrue.

[Mighty_Red]

Good to see Ox back again, otherwise an expected team. Might need the subs later to keep the energy levels up but just the 90mins before we can have a good break.

COMON U REDMEN!!!