Struggling Crystal Palace welcome a Liverpool side to Selhurst Park who have lost their past two fixtures. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes going into Sunday's game.

Pierre Sage must be cursing his luck. The embattled Palace boss watched any pre-match plans against Tottenham go up in smoke when Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off after just 13 minutes.

What followed was extreme one-way traffic as Sage's side had a mere two shots to Tottenham's 34, two touches in the opposition box to 67, an xG of 0.14 to 3.26 and had to try to survive on just 21% possession.

They have slipped into the bottom three, which tends to happen if you lose three matches in a row by an aggregate score of 9-0, and have conceded the most goals of any top-flight side.

Their poor form in 2026 as a whole has seen them lose the most games (15) and concede the most goals (52), as well as winning the joint fewest games (six) and scoring the joint fewest goals (29) of any ever-present team.

The Eagles have also faced 79 shots more than they have had this season - the widest margin of any Premier League side. Only three teams in the past seven campaigns have had as big a differential after nine games and all three of them went on to be relegated (Sheffield United in 2023-24, Leicester in 2024-25 and Burnley last season).

One particular defensive flaw that needs ironing out is conceding from headers. The two Tottenham scored took Palace's tally this season to six, twice as many as any other side.

At least they will be buoyed by their recent record against Liverpool. After 10 straight top-flight defeats, Palace have lost just three of their past eight encounters and during one of their four meetings last season secured a home league win versus the Reds for the first time since 2014.

Having lost just one of his first 13 matches in charge of Liverpool, Andoni Iraola has seen his side suffer back-to-back defeats.

He cut a figure of frustration during their 3-2 defeat to Fenerbahce and described the goals they conceded - all of which were via set-pieces - as "cheap" and "messy". It meant they have let in three goals in three successive European matches for the first time.

A first home defeat by Arsenal in 14 years was also a cause of annoyance. They didn't play badly, but it was the first time they failed to record a shot on target in 442 Premier League matches at Anfield since records began in 2003-04.

It also extended the gap between Iraola's side and the Gunners to nine points after nine games.

While they have managed just one win and scored only four goals in their five home league matches, life has been much better on the road. Only Arsenal can beat their tally of 10 away points, while Nottingham Forest (83%) are the only side to have won a higher share of their points on their travels than Liverpool's 67%.

Taking into account fixtures with former club Bournemouth, Iraola is unbeaten in all 13 of his Premier League away games in 2026, with his last loss coming at Brentford in December 2025. The only managers to go unbeaten in 14 or more games from the start of a calendar year are Sir Alex Ferguson (14 in 1999), Jose Mourinho (14 in 2005) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (15 in 2021).

Iraola has been cautious with his squad selections thus far. No top-flight side has used fewer players than their 20, while only four players have scored a league goal so far (excluding own goals).