Crystal Palace Away Is as Big a Test for Liverpool as Tottenham at Home

Liverpool don't lose at home in the Premier League.

So far this season, they've won seven of seven at Anfield. Their victory over Spurs extended their unbeaten home run to an unfathomable 66 league matches. Only once in the competition's history has that ever been topped.

Away, though? Well that's another story.

They've won just one of six away games this term. They've dropped a mammoth 11 points on their travels already compared to 16 across all 38 matches in 2019/20. They are top of the league, but somehow 16th in the away form table.

On the road this season, the Reds have looked shaky, disjointed, generally vulnerable, and highly susceptible to the sort of counter-attacks they would normally repel with ease.

And that's just why their trip to Selhurst Park this weekend is so important as they look to assert their title credentials.

Their recent record not something that can be pinned on injuries, considering their first-choice back four was available for the 7-2 obliteration at Aston Villa. Three of the same four who conceded just 33 goals last season, yet still managed to lose 3-0 to Nigel Pearson's Watford at Vicarage Road.

It's a genuine weakness fast emerging in this great Liverpool team, and it will need cut off at the source if they are to retain the Premier League crown.

Everything points to Crystal Palace on Saturday being a tough one for Jurgen Klopp's team. The obvious demons, rooted in the 2014 'Crystanbul' debacle, were dampened by a late Roberto Firmino winner last term, but Palace away remains a fixture that triggers serious anxiety for Liverpool fans.

They look a good side this season too. They are more than just the 'well-organised unit' they've been typecast as of late; their 19 goals scored is more than Man City or Wolves have managed so far. They pack a serious punch.

Liverpool have recovered from a shaky defensive start, but the threat posed by Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze and even Christian Benteke - back among the goals just in time to face his former side - cannot be taken lightly.

Not exactly an encouraging prospect for a team who can't buy an away win to save themselves.

Omens and superstition aside, Liverpool do go into this one in decent nick. They're not top of the Premier League by accident, and while their away record brings cause for concern, the Villa thrashing was just one of two defeats, home or away, they've fallen to this season.

Then there's the free-scoring Mohamed Salah to take into account. The Egyptian has netted 11 league goals already and 14 after 20 games in all competitions is his best strike-rate since his record-breaking debut year.

He's scored four in his last five against Palace and put them to the sword the last time the sides met. His form, alone, is enough to breed confidence ahead of another game that could tell us a lot about where Liverpool really are.

The Spurs win was huge. At Anfield, however, even with Harry Kane and Steven Bergwijn spurning several great chances, you expected Liverpool to get it over the line. That's just how it goes on L4.

Palace, though, is a different test altogether. It's the kind of game that has cost Liverpool in the all-too-recent past - you only have to look at Fulham away last weekend to see how it can all go haywire.

A win, then, goes a long way towards answering one of the biggest questions we've asked of the Reds over the past two-and-a-half seasons. Anything but, and the doubts will linger.