Liverpool team vs Crystal Palace predicted as Gakpo and Jota decisions made

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has some important selection decisions to make when his side take on Crystal Palace at 12:30pm (7:30am EST) today. The Reds were in action on Wednesday evening, which makes for a very tight turnaround for the match at Selhurst Park.

The only confirmed absentee is Harvey Elliott . Federico Chiesa missed the 2-0 win against Bologna in midweek but Slot was non-committal when quizzed about the Italian’s potential availability in his Friday press conference .

“Wait and see,” he said. “He didn't train for the last two days. Even if he can train, I still have a decision to make whether he will play or not as I can only choose a certain amount of players.” It seems fair to assume that Chiesa is very unlikely to start the game, if he features at all.

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In terms of who will be in Slot’s starting XI, it’s worth reviewing the line up from the recent victory over Bournemouth . That is the one previous instance of a match which directly followed a Champions League fixture and – Carabao Cup game against West Ham aside – it was the game for which the head coach made the most changes to his lineup.

Even then, one of the four changes against Bournemouth was forced, as Caoimhín Kelleher had to deputise for the injured Alisson Becker, which shouldn’t be necessary here. The other alterations against the Cherries saw Kostas Tsimikas, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota replaced by Andy Robertson, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez respectively.

The latter three all started against Bologna, so, Alisson aside, the team which played on Wednesday night was the same as that which took on Bournemouth. As such, can we expect the players they replaced that day to get a game on Saturday lunchtime?

They all came off the bench last time out, along with Conor Bradley and Curtis Jones, so wouldn’t be coming in entirely cold. This may prove to be how Slot will manage his squad through the months of playing weekend and midweek, with the players he intends to bring into the side for the next game getting minutes in the week before.

Whatever he decides to do, most of the lineup looks inevitable. With Slot becoming the first Liverpool boss to win eight of their first nine matches, the bulk of the side is in ‘picking itself’ form at present.

Liverpool predicted team vs Crystal Palace : Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Jota.