Liverpool have already lost to Crystal Palace twice this season, with their next game against the Eagles coming on Wednesday evening.
Liverpool’s first defeat against Oliver Glasner’s men came in the Community Shield final, and, while that is just a glorified friendly, it still showed that the Reds had weaknesses that could be exploited.
Palace’s second win was a little luckier as Eddie Nketiah netted a last-minute winner in a game which should have ended in a draw.
On paper, Liverpool have a much stronger team than Palace, but something about Glasner’s way of playing always seems to get the better of Arne Slot.
Several first-team players are likely to be rested on Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean that Slot isn’t taking the game seriously.
Arne Slot says Liverpool beating Crystal Palace could get their season back on track
The Carabao Cup is usually a competition that most fans don’t care about, especially when their main focus is on the Premier League and the Champions League.
Last season, Liverpool did get to the final, but even then, fans weren’t all that bothered when they lost.
And while writing his Crystal Palace programme notes, Slot shared why he thinks Wednesday’s game against the Eagles could be more important than most fans think.
“Tonight’s fixture gives us an opportunity to take a step forward, not just in this competition but also in our season as a whole,” he said.
“That it comes against an opponent that continues to prove itself to be very strong means this will be a testing cup tie, but again, this is the kind of challenge that we have to embrace.”
Not only do these words show how seriously Liverpool are going to take the game, but it also shows that Slot knows change is needed.
His first-team squad have been far from their best over the last month or so and, unless they resolve the situation soon, things will start to go from bad to worse.
Liverpool need to beat Crystal Palace in their Carabao Cup tie
As mentioned, the fact that the Reds have already lost twice to Crystal Palace this season is massively concerning.
They did manage to win the FA Cup last term, but even with this in mind, the quality of their squad is nowhere near as strong as Liverpool’s.
In fact, some of the players that Liverpool often have on their bench would easily fit into Glasner’s starting XI.
Despite this, a win over the Eagles would give the Reds a massive confidence boost and prove that Palace aren’t their bogey team.
Most of Liverpool’s second-string players will get a run out on Wednesday evening, with Federico Chiesa even potentially being given a golden opportunity to prove his worth to Slot.
And, in the Reds’ time of need, a saviour such as Chiesa is exactly what they need.
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