adminAlan Shearer and Paul Merson on same page with Liverpool vs Crystal Palace prediction
Former Premier League stars Alan Shearer and Paul Merson both expect Liverpool to cruise past Crystal Palace at Anfield on Saturday, pointing to the clubs’ contrasting priorities at this stage of the season.
The Reds enter the match on a two-game winning streak, which has improved the mood around the club. Chelsea’s recent collapse has also helped, as they are no longer Liverpool’s main rivals for a Champions League spot. A win against Palace would put the Reds eight points clear of sixth place with only four games left.
With Palace’s attention likely on their upcoming European semi-final just days away, Shearer and Merson are backing Liverpool to secure a crucial victory.
Writing in his Betfair weekend preview, Shearer said: “Liverpool scraped a win against Fulham at Anfield recently, and did the same in the derby against Everton. I think they’ll have too much for Palace. Home win.” He added, “Palace have a real chance to win a European trophy. My guess is all their focus will be on Europe, not the Premier League.”
Merson agreed, telling Sportskeeda: “I can’t see anything but a Liverpool win. Palace have a huge Conference League game against Shakhtar Donetsk next Thursday. Their season depends entirely on the next two Thursdays. They’ve done enough to stay up in the league and should put all their eggs in that European basket.”
Merson, the ex-Arsenal star, predicted a 3–0 victory and questioned whether Palace would win another league match this season. However, he also warned Liverpool to be cautious with Alexander Isak, who is returning from a four-month injury layoff.
“He’s barely played this season, and with the World Cup coming up, he could be asked to play too many minutes too quickly. If his workload isn’t managed carefully, Liverpool risk losing him to another injury. I’ve no doubt Arne Slot will have that in mind.”
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