Crystal Palace F.C vs
Liverpool F.CMonday 20th August 2018 - 8pm
Venue: Selhurst Park
Managers: Roy Hodgson and Jurgen Klopp.
Last six results between the teams at Selhurst Park:
5th May 2014 - Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3.
23rd November 2014 - Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 1
16th May 2015 - Crystal Palace 1 Liverpool 3
6th March 2016 - Crystal Palace 1 Liverpool 2
29th October 2017 - Crystal Palace 2 Liverpool 4
31st March 2018 - Crystal Palace 1 Liverpool 2
Liverpool wins: 4.
Draws: 1.
Crystal Palace wins: 1.
Both teams score: All 6.
Over 2.5 goals: All 6.
Liverpool started the season brightly in their first match of the season dispatching a lacklustre West Ham 4 goals to nil with a Mane brace, Salah off and running with a tap in and Sturridge netting one of the quickest goals you'll ever see after coming off the bench right at the end. To try and continue the momentum from that fixture, Jurgen's men travel to South London to take on Crystal Palace in this weekend's Monday night affair. Their opposition, Crystal Palace, come into their first home game of the season off the back of a solid 2-0 away win against newly promoted and heavily strengthened Fulham. The scorers for Crystal Palace on Saturday were the constantly impressing and arguably their most important player in Wilfried Zaha, as well as Jeffrey Schlupp, who scored his first goal for the Eagles after signing from Leicester in January of 2017.
The win over Fulham was only the third time in ten premier league campaigns that Crystal Palace have started the season with a win. In some ways this sets up the visit of Liverpool as a sort of 'bonus' game for them with three points already under their belts and now they have the opportunity to go out in front of their home crowd for the first time this season and just give it their best shot against a Liverpool side widely tipped to perform strongly in the league this season. It is a Liverpool side that since the summer of last year now has a spine to the team that reads Alisson, Van Dijk, Keita and Firmino. With the history of the fixture usually showcasing lots of goals from both sides, it appears we could be watching an absolute cracker on Monday night.
Crystal Palace fans are pretty unique in England for having their own Ultras section, which mimics some of the noisy and colourful support that you usually see on the continent. With the game kicking off at 8pm you will imagine that if anything they will be louder and more boisterous than they are during the afternoon weekend matches after a getting a few post work pints in their bellies. With Liverpool looking to get into the first international break with as many points as possible and to keep pace with Manchester City and with the game taking place as the last fixture of the weekend after the completition of the others, there is already a feeling that it could be a pivotal early contest. Especially considering that following this potentially tricky away game, Liverpool have a relatively comfortable match up against Brighton at home which they should be expecting to win. Crystal Palace on the other hand, make the short trip to Watford.
For Liverpool, they once again come up against Roy Hodgson in the opposite dugout, who had a tumultuous time at Liverpool himself, riling a lot of fans with negative football and poor results before he was eventually (and rarely for Liverpool) booted out as manager midway through a season in January 2011. Brendan Rodgers being the only other manager to leave during a season since the turn of the millennium when he was let go in October 2015 to make way for the current incumbent, Jurgen Klopp. Roy Hodgson also had a fairly infamous tenure as England manager, with Crystal Palace being his first domestic job since he left the England post after a shambolic display against Iceland. The only meeting that Liverpool have had against Roy Hodgson as Palace manager was the back end of last season when they ran out 2-1 winners in a match also at Selhurst Park.
For my scribe piece, I reached out to someone who I know is very passionate and cares a lot about following Crystal Palace and asked if he would be up for an interview discussing the game, Liverpool and more generally Crystal Palace for those of us who don't follow them that closely.
Joe Walker is a Crystal Palace season ticket holder and former writer for their Flying High fanzine. He can often be seen on various fan media discussing football and especially The Eagles. Joe is also a voice on Apple Music's Beats 1 and London's Reprezent Radio and has written articles for RWD Mag, one of the UK's top youth culture and lifestyle magazines.
What follows is our discussion.
With the transfer window closed on the 9th of August, Crystal Palace brought in in Cheick Kouyate, Vicente Guaita, Jordan Ayew and Max Meyer. Which of them in particular are you looking forward to seeing this season and why?Most Palace fans are excited to see what Max Meyer brings to the team. I must admit I hadn't seen much of him at Schalke but the signing has been suggested as a major coup, even if his time over there ended under a cloud. However, at Palace he'll be allowed to play in the box-to-box role he prefers, which will hopefully bring out the sort of performances that attracted the 'German Messi' tag upon him a couple of seasons ago. He's still only 22, so even if there are question marks about him that kept bigger clubs away, it's a risk Palace are willing to take.
What is your opinion on the business done by Crystal Palace this summer, and are you happy with it?I think the club's done pretty well in the circumstances. Between stadium expansion plans and necessary over-spending under previous management - Sam Allardyce's £70m trolley dash in his one transfer window at Palace almost certainly kept us up that season, but the wages-to-turnover ratio is one of the worst in the Premier League - there hasn't been a lot of money for Hodgson to play with since his arrival, but the squad is looking decent. Meyer looks to be the best possible replacement for Yohan Cabaye, who departed on a free to Dubai this summer, while Guaita brings much-needed competition between the sticks. Jordan Ayew and Kouyate are unlikely to start every game, but improve the depth of a squad that looked desperately thin when there were a few injuries last season.
Of course, the best bit of work this summer was shooing away any interest in Wilfried Zaha. It's difficult to argue that he is worth in excess of £70m to Palace, with the club's Premier League status a genuine uncertainty in his absence, but those clubs most interested in him - Spurs, chiefly - are least likely to part with that sort of money on one player. What a shame, eh?
If you would have had the funds for an extra player or could have got an extra body in, whereabouts on the pitch do you think would have been the priority for Palace and why, and would you have had anyone in particular in mind if it could have been possible?With Guaita's arrival hopefully resolving the goalkeeping situation, which has needed addressing for at least three years, the remaining question marks in Palace's starting XI is on the left wing of the 4-4-2, where Jeffrey Schlupp hasn't stayed fit long enough to completely convince, and perhaps most importantly up front. Goals haven't been a problem under Hodgson, but the strikers in the squad need to chip in more this year. Christian Benteke's confidence looked shot to bits in the last campaign, and if he still hasn't recovered in front of goal then it would be best if he was moved on - to China, hopefully - and the money spent on a replacement. Who though, I'm not exactly sure.
What do you believe would constitute a good season for Crystal Palace in 2018/2019? Is it simply a matter of staying up however you can, or is there anything more tangible you'd like to see? A cup run? Better performances in specific games? Is there a particular result that went horribly wrong last season that you'd like to see put right?Roy Hodgson revealed in a pre-season press conference that chairman Steve Parish has simply demanded survival again, and while the relatively low summer spending seems to match that lack of ambition I would still be desperately disappointed to see Palace near the bottom of the table for any real period of time. By simply scoring at Fulham on the opening day, we have already improved upon the opening seven games of last season, and if we avoid the injury crises of last time out - the worst I've seen in my years supporting the club - there's no reason why we shouldn't be looking at improving upon last season's finish of 11th. Sides we finished above have improved, but I still fancy our best starting XI against most teams in the division.
As for results to put right, look no further than Anfield. Frank de Boer should've been sacked even sooner than he was last season for losing up there, that fixture's been a guaranteed three points for years!
(Authors note: Of the last five Premier League games at Anfield, Crystal Palace have won 4 and lost 1). You've ended up with a few players now that have played for Liverpool previously. Namely Christian Benteke, Mamadou Sakho and Martin Kelly. What do you make of their contributions thus far and are you expecting to see a bit more out of one or more of them in particular in the coming season?Benteke had a really strong debut season with us, with Allardyce playing to his strengths, but while his aerial stats remained a league-high last campaign he struggled in front of goal. An injury time penalty miss (having demanded the ball from our regular penalty taker) turned the crowd on him, which along with multiple spells out injured, sapped his confidence, costing him his place in the Palace side and Belgium's World Cup squad. His third and final league goal last season was a slightly patronising penalty in a 5-0 win, which hopefully felt as redemptive to him as the players and Palace crowd wanted it to be. He started in a front two with Zaha in our opening match at Fulham, and they combined far better than at any point last season, which is promising. A refreshed and happy Benteke can be a huge threat and I wouldn't write him off yet.
Sakho has been excellent for us, when fit. Injuries meant it wasn't until the Spring this year that he began to replicate the sort of defensive performances that we saw during his superhero loan spell, but they came just in time. Our centre back pairing of Sakho & James Tomkins is currently on an unbeaten run of 16 games together, which may well come to an end on Monday night but gives fans great confidence in defence. As your supporters will already know, Sakho can look a bit like Bambi on ice in possession but that's part of his charm, and a club of our stature is still getting used to having a centre back that doesn't want to hit long diagonals upfield at the first opportunity. If he stays injury-free, he could have a great season.
With an entire squad fit, Martin Kelly is probably our third choice right back and fourth-choice centre back, but he's a reliable option that hasn't kicked up a fuss, and injuries have meant he always gets at least 15 games or so in a season. If he wanted to move elsewhere for more minutes, though, it'd be wrong to stand in his way.
Speaking of people that have progressed from Liverpool to Crystal Palace, although this time not directly and via England, we've obviously had an infamous period in our history with Roy Hodgson in charge. How have you found him as manager? I guess when he came to us, there was a general consensus, especially once he left, that he was a mediocre manager, suited for mediocre teams. That could be a little unfair given our expectations, and I do know of Fulham and West Brom fans that took to him quite a bit. What's the general mood over him as manager and the style of football with yourself and other fans of Palace? Obviously he's over 70 now and unlikely to be building a dynasty!We love Roy here at Palace, but can more than understand why he's not well-loved at Liverpool. His coaching style has been described by ex-pros who've played under him as monotonous and repetitive, with his players coming round to it as they eventually see the very real difference it all makes on the pitch, and you can just imagine how that would go down with the calibre of players (and daresay egos!) you see at Anfield and indeed the England squad. Fulham, West Brom and ourselves were all in need of help at the bottom end of the table when he arrived at those respective clubs, and the players were probably more receptive to his methods (and sooner) out of desperation. The style of football has been enjoyable thus far, but then we had few complaints under Pulis or Allardyce in their short times with us either! With wingers like Zaha and Townsend on the team Palace will always be a big counter-attacking threat, and we simply don't lose to bottom half teams under Hodgson, which gives us great hope.
Roy's just turned 71, and although he signed a two-year deal last week we'd be naive to look to him for several more years in charge. He has a young first team coach in Steven Reid that may well be groomed for the Palace job upon Hodgson's retirement, with an outside shout for Dougie Freedman, our former manager and now Director of Football, brought back into the dugout at some point.
What do you make of the current ownership of Crystal Palace?The US investors that bought into the club a couple of years ago aren't regularly in attendance and trust in chairman Steve Parish, the remaining member of our CPFC2010 consortium that rescued the club from administration, to make the big calls. Parish is arguably one of the best chairmen Palace have had in living memory but has attracted criticism from some sections of the fanbase, not least with a frequency of media appearances that reminds some fans a little too much of Simon Jordan. Ever the dreamer, Parish has given the green light to a couple of ill-fated attempts at changing the style of play with disastrous results, most recently when responding to Sam Allardyce's 'retirement' with a Frank de Boer revolution despite having just let Sam empty the bank account on players that don't fit the Ajax mould. He has usually been quick to admit the error of his ways - sacking de Boer after four games a clear example - and has tried to back his managers in the transfer market whenever possible so I personally have no complaints. This is Palace's longest-ever run in the top flight, after all.
Can you think of a couple of your favourite matches that first spring to mind when you think of Crystal Palace and Liverpool toughing it out? Obviously, I immediately think of a torrid one from the back end of 2014 and feel free to mention that one if it's one that stands out for you, but free free to mention a couple of others if there are any?'Crystanbul' was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but one of my favourite ever Palace matches is the win at Anfield in Steven Gerrard's last home game for you. I'm too young to remember Palace's golden era in the early 90s so at the time it still felt very surreal to see The Eagles winning comfortably at the home of a team like Liverpool. Palace have had an impressive run results against you over the years, often in the cup or at home in a blood-and-guts performance, but seeing Bolasie, Puncheon & Zaha taking the proverbial at Anfield was a feeling I wish I could buy in pill form. To top it all off, we stayed after the game to watch Gerrard's farewell celebration, which was surreal in itself.
As this is going up on a Liverpool forum, what's the worst or most painful defeat that immediately springs to mind when you think of matches against Liverpool? It's only fair after giving you the opportunity to get in your favourite matches against us!The 9-0 in 1989 seems the obvious choice, although I was born just after so it doesn't inflict too much pain personally, plus most Palace fans saw the 4-3 FA Cup Semi-Final win over you later that season as the perfect redemption. In terms of personal experience, there was an injury time 2-1 defeat at Selhurst Park a couple of years ago that was particularly frustrating. We looked in complete control at 1-0 only to capitulate against your ten men, with Firmino equalising after our keeper fell over and Benteke seeming to dive for a stoppage time penalty that he duly dispatched. I didn't wet my pants in the way that a lot of Palace fans did that day - there was an embarrassing petition calling for a Benteke suspension that got way too much traction - but I hated how we threw it away. It's been pretty rosy against you besides that!
If you were given the opportunity to take any player from the Liverpool squad to put into the Palace team, which one do you think would help you most and why? Doesn't have to be a realistic transfer, just in terms of what they might bring to you?If we were to look picking someone for the Palace side in Hodgson's 4-4-2, I would probably take Firmino to have up top as I'm a big fan of his forward play. However this is my fantasy land, in which Palace play 4-3-3, so I would have Mo Salah in a front three with Zaha and Benteke. A nightmare for anyone.
At the start of the season when the fixtures come out, I always immediately look for the likes of Everton and Man United home and away. A quick look at who we play over December. Some match going fans of ours immediately look for the likes of Brighton and Bournemouth and whether they fall when it might be a hot weekend. What fixtures were you looking for immediately at the start of the summer when they were released?Though heavy policing means we don't get to enjoy the away trip in the same way as every other club, Brighton is the first game I look for. The thing I desperately missed since promotion was a genuine derby and while our rivalry bemuses most other clubs, it doesn't get a lot more intense. The miserable sod in me always has a look at the run-in too, in case we make a meal of our season again.
What do you make of Liverpool's transfer business this summer and which of our signings do you believe will make the biggest impact for us?Liverpool look to have improved in all the areas they needed to, and I like the way you've done business early, even if it meant spending more than you might not necessarily want to. Keita looked impressive from what I saw against West Ham, and I'm sure he'll be a big player for you this season. The impact of Allison won't be as obvious but will be just as important.
How do you see Liverpool's season playing out?The title still seems optimistic, what with City's all-conquering side, but I think you'll be their closest challengers.
Finally, the score prediction. What do you think the score will be when the two sides meet? While we've won the last two there, neither were particularly easy, can it be made difficult for us again?
We can be assured of a cracking end-to-end game under the lights at Selhurst Park, and I back Palace to get at least a goal, but if Liverpool play like they did last weekend then they should still come away with the points.
