Liverpool vs Crystal Palace: Palace smell blood after latest injury news

Liverpool take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday and their fans are smelling blood after the latest injury news.

It’s been reported that Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss up to a month after sustaining a knee injury. Gini Wijnaldum will also be absent from the Eagles clash, but Londonders are less bothered about that snippet of news.

Alexander-Arnold heading to the treatment table has got Palace supporters excited for pretty much one reason: Wilfried Zaha.

When he’s on song, Zaha can torment even the most cool, calm and collected right-back. And now he’s going to be able to have a crack at an aging fill-in.

James Milner is the man most likely to replace Alexander-Arnold. Brazilian Fabinho plays there for his country, but injuries to Joel Matip and Joe Gomez means that he’ll most likely fill in alongside Virgil van Dijk.

That leaves Milner as the only senior player capable of stepping into Alexander-Arnold’s shoes. Nathaniel Clyne would have been able to do it, but he got shipped off to Bournemouth on loan in a move that is threatening to come back and bite Jurgen Klopp.

Alexander-Arnold isn’t only important from a defensive point of view, the youngster is also a vital part of the machine going forward. As Mohamed Salah often cuts inside from his position on the wing, the defender hits the overlap and provides width.

Milner will be able to join in attacks, but not with the same energy and his younger team-mate. One thing that won’t be lost, however, is the range of passing that comes with playing TAA.

As Milly is a midfielder by trade, he’ll still be able to ping those delicious cross field balls into the feet of Andy Robertson.

And so it might look like doom and gloom from the outside, but the squad should be able to manage this injury in the short term.