Premier League leaders Liverpool will attempt to continue their excellent start to life under Arne Slot when they visit a Crystal Palace side still looking for its first win of the season.
Liverpool have won three in the row in the league and five straight in all competitions under their new Dutch boss, most recently seeing off Bologna 2-0 in Wednesday's second UEFA Champions League match.
Palace have won two League Cup matches, but they have taken only three points from their six league games and most recently lost a grip on their early lead in a 2-1 loss at Everton.
The away side won both these teams' league matches last season, with Palace's 1-0 triumph at Anfield in April sparking the start of a Spring revival after Oliver Glasner's hiring in February.
Here is my Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool prediction.
Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool Odds, Picks, Prediction
| Crystal Palace Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+0.5 +160 | 2.5 -165o / +130u | +500 |
| Liverpool Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-0.5 -195 | 2.5 -165o / +130u | -195 |
- Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool moneyline odds: Crystal Palace +500, Liverpool -195, Draw +360
- Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool over/under: 2.5 goals (over -165, under +130)
- Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool pick: 3 or 4 total goals (+135)
I am backing a goal bands bet of 3 or 4 total goals in Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool.
Crystal Palace Preview
That aforementioned triumph at Anfield began a string of impressive results after Glasner arrived, and while the Eagles were fortunate not to concede their attacking play was worthy of a point. What followed was a seven-match unbeaten run with six wins to close the season, allowing them to avoid a relegation scrap quite comfortably.
But while Glasner deserved credit for that revitalization, so did the return to fitness of wingers Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, who both battled ailments through much of the season. And it took several matches for that pairing to find their chemistry under their new boss before an attack emerged that scored 21 goals in those final seven games.
That's worth remembering given the transition Glasner's group has endured since. Olise moved on to Bayern Munich and useful reserve striker Jordan Ayew moved to Leicester City. The replacements — Eddie Nketiah and Ismaila Sarr — are still finding their footing, with that duo yet to make a goal contribution.
Palace probably deserved a point from their 2-1 defeat at Everton, a game decided largely by the individual brilliance of Dwight McNeil's left foot. And we're entering that two-month window where you might expect a re-invented group to take a step forward if Palace's April and May improvement last season are an indication.
Liverpool Preview
Any concern that the end of the Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool would bring an immediate regression should be quieted by the club's start to the 2024-2025 campaign.
The Reds have won all but one of their matches so far under Slot, and those performances have been impressively consistent; Liverpool led their opponent in expected goals created in every match they have played — including tricky trips to Manchester United and AC Milan — and have allowed 0.6 xG or less to their opponent in all but two of them.
It certainly helps to have veterans like Luis Diaz and Mo Salah, for whom adapting to a new manager's approach for club or country has become old hat. That pair has nine of the Reds' 12 league goals.
And despite Champions League play, the early league schedule has been relatively gentle on Slot's group, which hasn't included a team that sits higher than the 10th-place Nottingham Forest side that represents the Reds' sole defeat.
If the good patterns that existed under Klopp seem to be present under Slot, then so are the bad ones — namely an inability to make some games easier on themselves by scoring a fourth or fifth goal when it's clearly there for them. In fairness, sometimes that comes later; all six of Liverpool's four-goal performances in the league last year came after match day 14.
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool Prediction
This should be one of the more entertaining games of the weekend, with both teams committed to a proactive style. That's reflected in the odds on the total here, which are leaning toward three or more goals, and might be doing so more heavily were this Palace side in April or May form.
I think you can leverage Liverpool's tendency not to pile on and Palace's inconsistencies this season against that lean, not in the form of an under but rather a goal bands wager on 3-4 goals at +135 and an implied 42.6% probability.
It's a wager that has cashed in half of these teams' 12 league matches so far. Even more encouragingly, the combined xG total has landed between 2.6 and 3.1 in nine of these teams' 12 total league matches.
I might also consider a handicap wager on Palace at +1 or +1.5, given that I think this is a good buy-low spot for them. I'd be very surprised if they remain near the relegation places as the season progresses. But my confidence there is lower.
