CRYSTAL PALACE VS. LIVERPOOL
| Tuesday, September 26th |
Premier League | Selhurst Park
3PM BST/10AM EST
And so the last two undefeated 2025-26 teams meet, with Palace — as I’m sure you’ve heard by now — actually on a run of 17 unbeaten
stretching back to last season (11 in the Premier League). It is worth saying that 10 of those are draws, but included in those are Liverpool twice (Community Shield and the last match of the season last season, already title-holders); Arsenal, with whom who they also drew 2-2; and Chelsea. The wins column includes Manchester City in the FA Cup final. In the league for 2025-25 they have drawn three and won two. This will be a tough test for the Reds.
Because Crystal Palace played their cup tie the week previous, they have had a full week of training to prepare for this one. Manager Oliver Glasner used this time to do tactical training with his squad, and came out strong in his press conference: Palace are not looking to merely stay unbeaten, they want to get three points from the Reds.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, Ismaïla Sarr and Yeremy Pino are fit to return Saturday, with Sarr having a full week of training. Palace will be without Caleb Kporha, Chadi Riad, and Cheick Doucouré — and young goal-scorer Romain Esse will not feature in this one despite his recent heroics.
Palace are defensively solid, and have conceded no more than one goal in any of their last 12 league matches against Liverpool. The Reds this season have been a mixture of open and unlucky at the back, and will likely seek more than one goal against a dangerous side like Crystal Palace.
They’ve been well-organized this season, with the fewest high turnovers in the league per Opta (19), and they’ve paired this with the fewest high-intensity pressures in the final third — they do not seek to create chaos. Worryingly for Liverpool, though, is their direct speed: 2.02 meters/second is the highest of any side, so the Reds will have to be alert to avoid any Antoine Semenyo-like actions here.
Jean-Philippe Mateta is one to watch for Palace: he’s on 143 minutes per goal for his career, and has scored 29 in 55 Premier League appearances. Palace are looking to improve their chance creation for this season, and the Reds will need to be at the top of their game to secure a victory Saturday.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Bradley, Konaté, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Chiesa, Isak, Salah
Due Hugo Ekitiké’s moment of madness in the League Cup he is unavailable for the Reds on Saturday, with the likes of Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak, Federico Chiesa, and Rio Ngumoha presumably providing the attacking depth. It’s likely Arne Slot will start with his first choice front three out of that number of Gakpo and Isak alongside the ever-present Mohamed Salah, but as Isak is unlikely to be fit for the full 90’ the Liverpool head coach might save one of the starters to make impact off the bench. Regardless if it’s from the start or to make an impact on 60-ish-minutes, the romantics among us probably hope that Chiesa gets rewarded for his strong performance on Tuesday with some minutes — though he might well be saved for the Champions League to start.
Mohamed Salah, slighted for the Ballon d’Or this week, comes into this one just two goals involvements shy of Wayne Rooney’s top record of goal involvements for a single club (183 goals, 93 assists). Salah (186 goals, 88 assists) could well challenge Rooney on that one should he play to his abilities on Saturday.
Slot mentioned how difficult it is to create against Palace, and the Reds will face yet another match that feels like a steep test: thus far this season only Burnley felt easy on paper, and even that was a steep challenge due to their dedicated defensive organization. The Reds have a chance to stay perfect in the league, however, and those chances don’t come by often. Here’s hoping they grab three points with both hands.
The Managers Have Their Say
Arne Slot: “They haven’t lost in 17 games now so they are a tough team to beat. They have an enormous discipline and intensity. They have 10 outfield players who work so hard to stop the other team from scoring.”
Oliver Glasner: “For me it’s important that we are always talking about what we can improve. When we are analysing our games, we see we are doing many things really well. There is a lot of confidence, there is a lot of trust in the players among each other. Everybody knows exactly what to do. But we know that we are still with many things to improve. When we think how often we come into good situations in the final third and then, also, what’s the output? I was told that we have the third highest xG after five league games. We still feel, and when we are watching back our games, that we could have created more chances, and that’s now to work on it and show the players, supporting them, encouraging them, training.”
The Officials
Referee: Chris Kavanagh Assistants: Dan Cook, Adam Nunn Fourth official: Sam Allison VAR: Matt Donohue Assistant VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis
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