Crystal Palace vs Liverpool preview and prediction: Palace's goal shortage meets Liverpool's form

Context at Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace host Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday 8 November, with kick-off at 14:00 UTC at Selhurst Park. The two sides meet in very different circumstances, judging by the table as it stands at the time of writing.

Palace are 18th after 9 matches, with 2 wins, 1 draw and 6 defeats. They have scored 9 goals and conceded 21, a goal difference of -12, and have 7 points. Liverpool are 5th after 8 matches, with 4 wins, 3 draws and 1 defeat. They have 15 points and a goal difference of +3. Palace are 8 points behind going into the coming rounds, although both sides may play again before this fixture.

Palace's recent form

Palace have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 3 of their last 5 matches, scoring 3 goals and conceding 11. The latest result was a 2-0 defeat away to Tottenham on 31 October. Before that came a 1-0 win at Fulham, a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle, a 2-2 draw away to Beşiktaş and a 5-0 loss at Brighton.

The underlying numbers are not kind. Palace's expected goals against Tottenham were 0.21, while Tottenham's were 3.31. Across the season Palace average 1 goal per match and concede 2.3. They have kept a clean sheet in 11% of their matches and failed to score in 56%.

Liverpool's recent form

Liverpool have won 4 and drawn 1 of their last 5, scoring 15 goals and conceding 8. Their most recent match was a 1-1 home draw with Chelsea on 28 October. That followed a 2-0 home win over Brighton, a 4-3 home win over Villarreal, a 2-1 victory at Brentford and a 6-3 win away to Lask Linz.

The goals have come freely in those games, though not without cost at the other end. Liverpool's expected goals figure was 2.19 against Chelsea and 2.41 against Villarreal. In the league they average 1.4 goals per match and concede 1. They have kept a clean sheet in 50% of their matches and failed to score in 25%.

Head-to-head

The last 5 meetings are evenly split: 2 wins for each side and 1 draw.

• 25 April 2026: Liverpool 3-1 Crystal Palace
• 29 October 2025: Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace
• 27 September 2025: Crystal Palace 2-1 Liverpool
• 25 May 2025: Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace
• 5 October 2024: Crystal Palace 0-1 Liverpool

Palace won both of their meetings in the 2025 league fixtures that fell in the autumn, one at home and one away. Liverpool have taken the two most recent meetings from the other column, the latest by two goals.

Outlook

The form points towards Liverpool. They are unbeaten in their last 5, have the sturdier defensive record and sit well above Palace as things stand. Palace have struggled to create chances in several recent matches and have conceded heavily.

The head-to-head is a reminder that this fixture has not followed the table in recent seasons, and Palace have beaten Liverpool on their last two visits to Selhurst Park in the list above only once. Even so, a Liverpool edge looks the more likely shape of the game, with Palace needing to improve at both ends of the pitch.