Let's dissect this upcoming nail-biter between Crystal Palace and Liverpool, shall we?
Starting with the guardians of the goals, Liverpool's got Caoimhin Kelleher and Alisson in net with decent ratings of 8.60 and 7.10 respectively. A combined 14 saves isn't too shabby, but it's certainly nothing close to Dean Henderson's 15 saves for Crystal Palace. The man's putting up brick walls in front of the net with a 7.38 rating.
Moving along to the midfield maestros and net-baggers, Liverpool's lineup reads like a coveted award nomination list. Mohamed Salah and Luis Díaz have been terrorizing defenses like nobody's business, with a combined 6 goals and an impressive 15 shots on goal. Ibrahima Konaté and Ryan Gravenberch are no slouches either, keeping possession with over 87% accurate pass rate.
Over at the Palace, the star players are Marc Guéhi and Maxence Lacroix. Guéhi has shown some goal-scoring prowess with one goal to his name, but the team's goal production would need a little more work, show them some mercy!
Looking at past performances, Crystal Palace managed to hold Liverpool to a goalless draw and even stole a victory with a 1-0 win last April. I can still hear the collective gasp from Liverpool fans! However, remember, Liverpool won the most recent encounter, so it's not all doom and gloom for them.
When it comes to regular season records, Liverpool has an impressive 5 wins whereas Crystal Palace is still searching for the elusive victory. Talking about recent games, Liverpool's form has been stellar apart from an unexpected defeat against Nottingham Forest, while Crystal Palace has struggled to turn ties into victories.
So, what does all this mean for our bettors and sports enthusiasts? Well, if I had to put my money where my mouth is, I'd definitely wager on Liverpool pulling out the victory here. As pleasing as a Cinderella story may be, numbers are quite stubborn things.
Albert’s Prediction: Liverpool by 2