In this Crystal Palace v Liverpool clash, a Reds victory seems a foregone conclusion, with little else possible.
Despite their impressive performance last season, Crystal Palace's start to the new season has been a huge disappointment to their fans. They are tied with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton, Yeatswich Albion and Leicester City as the teams yet to taste victory, and have dropped to the bottom three in the table.
Although they managed to retain Mark Gushee this summer, the departure of a large number of stars such as Michael Ollis, Oisiny Edouardi, Jordan Ahue and Jokim Andersen has left the team in a state of disarray. They were in the top six in the goal scoring charts last season, with Jordan Ahue and Michael Ollis being the top two in the assists chart. The absence of Sam Madida and Ibrahim Ibrahim has also had an impact on the team's offense, which explains why Crystal Palace has struggled for a win so far.
In contrast, Liverpool don't need to worry about goals and defense. They have shown a strong defense by conceding only two goals so far this season. In six games, they conceded a goal each at Wolves and Nottingham Forest, but neither could be converted into a win.
Mohammed Shah is still having a low-key season, but the stats are impressive. Crystal Palace are feared to be struggling to stop him from scoring goals. He has three assists and three goals this season, second only to Aynin Sharant. What's more worrying for the home fans is that he has contributed 13 goals and assists in the last 14 meetings for Crystal Palace, and he's likely to be a scoring weapon for the Reds again in Saturday's match.
With Saturday's game on the horizon, Crystal Palace fans will be cheering their team on enthusiastically, but I struggle to see them dominating the pitch. Liverpool's strength of schedule will allow them to win comfortably and continue to lead the table.
