Mark Lawrenson has boldly predicted Crystal Palace’s game with Liverpool to end as a 1-1 draw when the sides meet at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
The BBC Sports pundit revealed that he thought Jurgen Klopp would have one eye on the Reds’ upcoming Champions League clash with Manchester City, which will enable Roy Hodgson’s side to grab a valuable point when the sides meet.
“Palace need to keep picking up points to climb away from the bottom three – and I think they will get something on Saturday, purely and simply because of Liverpool’s Champions League game against Manchester City on Wednesday,” stated Lawrenson in his predictions for BBC Sport.
“Professionals should not have one eye on another fixture which is three or four days later, but their last-16 tie is one of those huge occasions where it can happen.
“Reds boss Jurgen Klopp will surely be considering the City game, and the demands it will place on his players, when he picks his team to face Palace too.”
Crystal Palace have only managed to earn 30 points from 31 games this season and are only two points clear of the relegation zone ahead of Saturday’s game.
Whereas the Reds are flying high in the league as they sit third, only two points behind second-placed Manchester United.
OPINION
This is a bold prediction by Lawrenson as the Reds have been in tremendous form this season, while Palace have remained in the bottom half of the table for the whole campaign. It’s easy to see why the BBC Sports pundit has backed the Reds to drop points as the Manchester City game on April 4 is clearly more important. Reds supporters should hope that Lawrenson is wrong with his prediction as they don’t want see their side needlessly drop points against a struggling side. However it will be an excellent day for Hodgson if he guides his side to a memorable draw as his time at Anfield was unpleasant to say the least.