[Football- England 'Premier League'] 23.5/ 17:00 Liverpool- Crystal Palace

[Joshka]

[Football- England 'Premier League'] 23.5/ 17:00 Liverpool- Crystal Palace

The race for the Champions League is one of the main focal points of Sunday's final batch of Premier League games and one of the matches that is involved in that chaos is Liverpool versus Crystal Palace at 4pm BST from Anfield. It will be the last game of the home side's title-defending season but can they end it on a high by qualifying for Europe's top competition?

Liverpool have had to endure a tough season with injuries to key players including centre back Virgil Van Dijk. Credit to Jurgen Klopp and his squad to have fought back and put themselves in a prime position to finish in the top four when it was looking doubtful just a matter of weeks ago. The Reds are unbeaten in 9 league games having won 7 of those fixtures. It's propelled them to 4th in the table and ahead of Leicester on goal difference so their fate is in their own hands. If they better the result of Leicester or Chelsea then they'll be playing Champions League football next season. Liverpool have won their last league game of the season for four campaigns running now. A shout for anytime scorer is Sadio Mane who has scored in 7 consecutive appearances against Crystal Palace now. Given that Liverpool won the reverse fixture 7-0 earlier this season you'd like to think we could see goals here.

Crystal Palace end their reign under Roy Hodgson this weekend and the former Liverpool manager will be looking to go out on a high against his former employers. The Eagles have had a rather mediocre season with the club down in 13th place having never really threatened to do anything other than finish mid-table. 5 defeats from their last 7 league games shows their season has ended with a whimper. Defensive issues have plagued their campaign with the team conceding 64 goals this season which is their second worst defensive record in the Premier League. Unfortunately, Hodgson has lost each one of his six Premier League meetings with Klopp.

It's hard to see any hope for Crystal Palace here. You get the feeling that the players are just going through the motions knowing their manager won't be there next season and their safety in the Premier League has been assured for some weeks now. Liverpool still have everything to fight for and I expect them to do a number on their visitors here as they look to qualify for the Champions League. The fact Liverpool have won the last 7 league meetings between these two clubs only adds weight to that thinking.

1 (handicap -2.5) @2,20 Bet365

FT 2:0