By Joel Lefevre

Liverpool and Crystal Palace will square off on Wednesday at Anfield, with a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals at stake.

It is already the third meeting between the two sides this season, with the Reds edging Southampton 2-1 in the previous round to advance to this stage and Palace winning on penalties against Millwall.

Match Preview

Outside of a convincing 5-1 triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt, it has been a nightmare few weeks for Arne Slot and his Liverpool team.

Since a narrow 2-1 win in the third round of this competition, Liverpool have lost five of their last six competitive fixtures, including a 2-1 defeat at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace in September.

The record ten-time winners of this competition have made the last two Carabao Cup finals, winning in 2024, and have not been eliminated in this phase since a 3-2 defeat against Manchester City in the fourth round in 2022.

The Reds have won their last six Carabao Cup affairs at Anfield in normal time and have not lost a home outing in this competition since Chelsea came back to beat them 2-1 in the third round in 2018.

Liverpool meanwhile, have won their last six matches at Anfield in this competition by a combined margin of 21-5.

It has been quite a while since these teams previously met in this tournament at Anfield, with Gérard Houllier’s men coming away with a thumping 5-0 second-leg home triumph over Palace in the 2001 semi-finals, enabling them to reverse a 2-1 deficit.

Like the Reds, Crystal Palace has been in a downward spiral over the past few weeks of the top-flight season.

Oliver Glasner’s side are on a three-match Premier League winless run since defeating the Reds 2-1 at home.

Palace are hoping for a third consecutive win against Liverpool in the campaign, denying them the Community Shield on penalties, and handing them their first Premier League defeat of the season.

The last time these teams met in this tournament, it was known as the League Cup, and the Eagles walked away with a 2-1 triumph in 2005 thanks to a second-half strike from Marco Reich.

They hope to make the last eight of this competition for a second successive campaign, defeating Aston Villa to get to the last eight in 2024-25, before suffering a narrow 3-2 loss at the hands of Arsenal.

The Eagles have secured points in three successive visits to Anfield, including a 1-0 triumph in a 2024 top-flight affair.

Team News

Liverpool could miss Stefan Bajcetic, Alisson and Jeremie Frimpong on Wednesday because of hamstring strains, while Alexander Isak is dealing with adductor pain.

Ryan Gravenberch has a sore ankle, while Giovanni Leoni continues to recover from a cruciate ligament injury, and Curtis Jones is questionable with a knock.

Mohamed Salah has nine goals all-time against Palace in his career, one fewer than Sadio Mané.

Isak and Hugo Ekitiké scored the only goals in their round three victory against Championship side Southampton, and the Frenchman is eligible to play despite his red card in that clash, having served that suspension in their league outing with Palace.

Cheick Doucouré is doubtful for Crystal Palace with a knee issue, Chadi Riad has a cruciate ligament tear and will not play in midweek, while a back injury will likely prevent Caleb Kporha from seeing the field for the Eagles in this upcoming clash.

Ismaïla Sarr has scored in each of the last three competitive meetings between Liverpool and Palace, including the equaliser in the Community Shield.

Chris Richards scored in their opening match of the Carabao Cup, while Walter Benitez stopped two Millwall penalties to send his side through.

Predicted Lineups

Liverpool:

Woodman; Bradley, Gomez, Williams, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Endo; Chiesa, Nyoni, Ngumoha; Ekitiké

Crystal Palace: 

Benitez; Canvot, Richards, Guéhi; Munoz, Hughes, Kamada, Esse; Sarr, Uche; Mateta