By OkayGoal
Pierre Sage has to find a striker for the visit of Liverpool, and his own words on Thursday night pointed to a new partnership rather than a like-for-like swap.
Crystal Palace host Andoni Iraola’s side at Selhurst Park on Sunday 8 November, with a 2pm kick-off, in the last game before the international break. Saturday’s results have pushed them down to 19th on seven points, level with Manchester United and two clear of bottom club Sunderland, and a fourth league defeat in a row would only add to the pressure on Sage, whose job is already being talked about as Palace look at Thomas Tuchel’s England assistant.
Jean-Philippe Mateta is suspended after his red card for the challenge on Micky van de Ven at Tottenham, and Ismaila Sarr is out until after the break with his groin injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf) and Chadi Riad (knee) are also missing. Adam Wharton was sent off against Hoffenheim on Thursday, but that ban only applies in the Europa League, so he is free to play.
Crystal Palace predicted lineup vs Liverpool
Crystal Palace predicted lineup vs Liverpool (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Canvot, Disasi, Richards; Mingueza, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Pino, Nketiah; Strand Larsen
Dean Henderson: the busiest man at the club
The captain has been the reason Palace stayed in their last two games. Sage said he made “some incredible saves” at Tottenham, and he did it again on Thursday, getting down quickly to stop Andrej Kramaric from close range and spreading himself to deny Wouter Burger. He starts.
Jaydee Canvot, Axel Disasi and Chris Richards: the league back three returns
The three who started at Tottenham should come back together. Disasi didn’t feature against Hoffenheim, which leaves him fresh, and he made a couple of vital interventions in north London, including the block that stopped a Tottenham header from only a few yards out.
Richards will be playing with plenty going on in the background, as Inter can speak to Palace’s American centre-back from 1 January. Canvot played the full game on Thursday and keeps his place on the right of the three.
Oscar Mingueza: the fresher wing-back
This is close. Anan Khalaili started against Hoffenheim and was replaced by Mingueza after 55 minutes, while Mingueza started the last league game at Tottenham before Khalaili came on for him. With only three days between the games, we think Sage goes back to the player he trusted in the Premier League last weekend.
Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada: the engine room stays
Wharton’s second yellow card against Hoffenheim came for what looked like a fair challenge, but it doesn’t touch his domestic availability, and Palace need his passing more than ever when the ball keeps coming straight back at them. Sage admitted after Tottenham that it was “impossible to exist” in that game because they kept giving the ball away.
Kamada scored the injury-time equaliser on Thursday. Quinten Timber started in Europe, but this is a job for the two who did it at Tottenham.
Tyrick Mitchell: the left side is his
Mitchell set up Kamada’s late leveller with a cushioned header across goal, and the 250-game man is one of the few players in this squad Sage never has to think about. He’ll have plenty of defending to do against Liverpool’s right side.
Who replaces Mateta?
This is where we think Sage does something different. He was asked about the striker spot straight after the Hoffenheim draw and named two players, not one. “There was the opportunity for Jørgen Strand Larsen and Eddie Nketiah to play,” he said. “We have big confidence in the other players. They’ve shown they are able to play and they are able to compete.”
Jorgen Strand Larsen: ready for an hour
Strand Larsen has only just come back from injury and stayed on the bench against Hoffenheim. Sage explained why: “He didn’t play today because the scenario of the game was not positive for him to have the possibility to let him play. But I think he’s able to play 60, 75 [minutes] and with the head and the stamina, maybe he can push this.”
He scored against Ipswich and Lech Poznan earlier in the season, and he gives Palace a target to hit when they need to get up the pitch quickly, which is exactly what went wrong at Tottenham.
Eddie Nketiah: the No.10 option
The other line from Sage that stood out was this one: “Eddie scored against Fulham, he scored against Lech Poznan too, and Eddie is able to play as a No. 10 too.” Nketiah came off the bench in both of the last two games, and he and Mingueza combined for the winner at Craven Cottage in the Carabao Cup. Playing him behind Strand Larsen means Palace have a second striker in the box and someone who can move up front when the Norwegian tires, rather than making a like-for-like change on the hour.
Yeremy Pino: the biggest threat
Pino was Palace’s best attacker on Thursday. He forced Oliver Baumann into a last-ditch save, nearly chipped him from Wharton’s pass and delivered the deep cross for Kamada’s equaliser. He starts on the right of the two behind Strand Larsen.
Bench and doubts
The man who loses out is Dwight McNeil, who started at Tottenham as the attacking midfielder and came on as a sub on Thursday. He, Evann Guessand and Khalaili give Sage options to change it in the second half, along with Timber and Lerma in midfield. Walter Benitez is the back-up goalkeeper.
Can Palace get anything from this?
They have done it before. Palace beat Liverpool 2-1 at Selhurst Park in September 2025, although the Reds had won 10 of their 11 visits before that. Iraola’s side have lost to Arsenal and Fenerbahce in the past week, and we’ve already looked at how Liverpool are likely to line up, with Milos Kerkez and Ronald Araujo expected back.
Sage called it “a big challenge” and “maybe the opportunity to create something special for this group.” Without Mateta and Sarr, it will need Strand Larsen to last as long as possible and Henderson to have another big afternoon.
Crystal Palace predicted lineup vs Liverpool (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Canvot, Disasi, Richards; Mingueza, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Pino, Nketiah; Strand Larsen