The Eagles have been triumphant in both previous meetings this season, beginning with their Community Shield victory and followed up by a last-gasp Premier League win in late September. Palace have won three and drawn one of their last four with Liverpool and will head to Merseyside full of confidence, especially given the woeful form of their opponents.
Liverpool plunged into a full-blown crisis on Saturday evening as they were deservedly beaten by Brentford. Their fourth straight Premier League defeat and fifth loss in their last six matches has alarm bells ringing, with Arne Slot under pressure to turn performances and results around swiftly after the summer’s gargantuan transfer spend.
The Reds have enjoyed the Carabao Cup in recent years, reaching three of the last four finals and winning the competition twice in that time. However, they were beaten finalists last season as they were conquered by Newcastle United and their new superstar striker Alexander Isak at Wembley.
Palace don’t enter the fixture in particularly blistering form having suffered a drop-off in results since their 19-match unbeaten run was ended by Everton on their last trip to Merseyside. They are winless in four and even suffered a shock 1–0 defeat to Cypriot minnows AEK Larnaca in the Conference League last Thursday.
Liverpool will be desperate for respite amid a torrid spell, but Palace, spurred on by last term’s FA Cup triumph, will be eager to take another step towards silverware on Wednesday.
Liverpool were without Alexander Isak, Alisson and Jeremie Frimpong for the weekend trip to the Gtech Community Stadium, and will be forced to cope without the trio again on Wednesday.
They could be joined in the treatment room by Curtis Jones, who was withdrawn due to a knock at Brentford. Arne Slot was unsure on the seriousness of his issue after the game, meaning he’s a doubt to feature midweek.
Youngsters Giovanni Leoni, Stefan Bajcetic and Jayden Danns are missing through long-term injuries and will not have the opportunity to impress in the cup.
Despite Liverpool desperately needing victory to stop the rot, Slot is likely to make sweeping changes to his team, including a potential competitive Reds debut for goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.
