Liverpool will look to keep the pressure on Manchester City with a victory over Crystal Palace in their English Premier League game at Selhurst Park on Monday night.
Where to Watch Live:
The Monday night game is scheduled for an 8 pm BST (12.30 am IST, 3 pm ET) start with live coverage on Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD2 in India. The match can be watched via live streaming online in India HERE. Watch the game in the US HERE, while UK viewers can watch the match live HERE. Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can live stream the action HERE, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do so HERE. Latin America viewers can live stream the action HERE. The game can be live streamed by Canada viewers HERE, while Australia viewers can do the same HERE.
The Reds know if City win their remaining two games - against Aston Villa and West Ham - there is nothing they can do to get a hold of that title they have been craving for 24 years. However, the least they can do at the moment is to keep the pressure on their title rivals, who jumped to first place on 80 points, the same as Liverpool, with a crucial 3-2 victory over Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Three points against Palace on Monday will take Liverpool back to the top of the table, and Brendan Rodgers and co. will be desperate to make up for that morale-sapping defeat to Chelsea last weekend.
"The Chelsea game was a big disappointment," Rodgers said. "There were a couple of days of grieving after losing such a game. It's one where you have to get it out of your system.But I've reminded the players what champions do and what top professionals to. When they have a setback, they pick themselves up and they go again.
"It hasn't been a challenge for me to pick everyone up. The beauty of this group of players is their mentality and attitude. I told them that however much that defeat hurt, it hurt because it mattered. It hurt because we were in such a good position.
"With a couple of games to go we are still top of the league. We're two points clear with two games to go. That's what we reminded the players about. We never dwell too much on the disappointments. We refocus on the next challenge."
The next challenge is not an easy one either, with Palace enjoying a wonderful spell under Tony Pulis, who deservedly won the Manager of the Month award for April after leading his side to four straight wins in the month, which was then ended by Manchester City last weekend.
From definite relegation contenders, Pulis has taken Palace to near the top half of the table, with only four points separating them from Stoke City in tenth, with the Potters having played a game more.
With Liverpool struggling to break down a near-ten man defence against Chelsea last weekend, Rodgers and his team can expect to run into a similar organised wall on Monday as well, and it will be up to the enterprising Reds forward line, led by PFA Player of the Year Luis Suarez, to find a way through.
"That's the job for me this week -- to help the players find the solutions in those types of games," Rodgers added. "What we've shown over the course of the season is that we can play in many different ways -- possession or counter-attack, our ability to score goals has been there.
"I analysed the game last week and I thought lots of parts of our game were very good -- the speed of our game was excellent, we just need to find other solutions in the final third. That's my job as a coach, to work with the players, and that's something that we've looked at this week -- we've analysed where we can be better."
For Palace it will be about looking to finish their final home game, in front of their brilliant supporters, with their 14th victory of the season. "I care about this game and I am sure the players do," Pulis said. "It is our last home game of the season so it is very, very important that we try and finish on a high.
"That is our tribute to the supporters for the way they have got behind us this year. We owe them a performance -- and everyone in the Premier League a performance."
Team news: Crystal Palace:Pulis has no new injury worries and is set to name a strong team.
Liverpool: Jose Enrique and Sebastian Coates remain sidelined, while Jordan Henderson serves the last of his three-match suspension.
Expected lineups: Crystal Palace:Speroni; Mariappa, Dann, Delaney, Ward; Puncheon, Dikgacoi, Jedinak, Ledley, Bolasie; Jerome.
Liverpool:Mignolet; Johnson, Skrtel, Sakho, Flanagan; Allen, Gerrard, Coutinho, Sterling; Sturridge, Suarez.
