Toughest test yet? Liverpool take on Oliver Glasner's formidable Crystal Palace

Premier League preview 

On Saturday Liverpool will face perhaps their toughest test of the season to date, when they make the trip to London to take on Crystal Palace. Although the Selhurst Park side only finished 12th in the league last season, Oliver Glasner’s side are the reigning FA Cup champions and in many ways one of the most improved clubs in the English top-flight in the last 18 months. And that could mean serious problems for Arne Slot’s league leaders.

Indeed, since Glasner took over at Palace in February 2024, the Austrian tactician has wasted no time at all in showing what he’s capable of. To such an extent that many fans of the club would argue that he’s already surpassed all others that were in the job before him. Alongside winning the FA Cup with a victory over Manchester City, Glasner also beat Liverpool in the Community Shield. And while that fixture is little more than a glorified friendly, the club’s performances in the Premier League hint at a team that are ready to upset the status quo of the English top-flight.

As we can see in the table above, when we add up all the points won in the Premier League since Glasner took over at Palace, we can see that the 51-year-old head coach sits fifth among his peers. What’s most notable is the fact that the Palace boss will likely overtake Unai Emery at some point this season, but also maintains a notable lead over other highly-regarded head coaches like Brighton’s Fabian Hürzeler, new Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola. In fact, Glasner’s average of 1.53 points per league game is not only a 25% increase on his immediate predecessor, Roy Hodgson, but is also the highest return for any Palace manager in the Premier League era.

Glasner’s success in the Premier League has been built on rock-solid foundations in defence, where a back three of Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guéhi and Chris Richards are supported by defensive midfielder Adam Wharton to build a team that often prove too difficult to break down. In their first five games of the season, Palace have kept clean sheets against Chelsea, Aston Villa and Sunderland and have conceded just 26 goals in 24 league games over the course of 2025. If that isn’t impressive enough, it’s also worth bearing in mind that since Glasner arrived at the club, Palace have only conceded 67 goals in 56 league games - a defensive record that only Man City and Arsenal can beat in that time period.

What makes Saturday’s clash with Liverpool so interesting is that the league will essentially see what happens when one of the best defensive teams and one of the best offensive teams lock horns. While Palace’s defensive record in 2025 is very impressive, Liverpool can also boast an attacking record that stands at 52 goals scored in 25 games. And in their first seven games of the season, Slot’s side have scored no less than 17 goals. But whether Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz & Co. can break down Palace’s impressive back line remains to be seen.