Video courtesy of SkyPro
Liverpool are heading into their fifth round FA Cup clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday riding a wave of optimism after beating out fellow top-four hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur midweek, but they’ve got a few concerns to sort out before they make the trip to Selhurst Park. Raheem Sterling will have a late fitness check while both Lucas and Reds captain Steven Gerrard are set for spells on the sidelines with a groin strain and a hamstring problem worrying the pair. With a lack of steel in the middle of the park a major concern, Liverpool assistant boss Colin Pasoce hinted that Emre Can could be drafted into midfield for the meeting with the Eagles.
“He is young and learning his game, but in years to come I’m sure he’ll progress to be a leader. He’s a leader on the pitch and he has been fantastic with the way he is playing. At the moment, he’s probably not looking at that kind of thing himself” said the Welshman, standing in for Reds boss Brendan Rodgers who is away on unspecified club business. “When we were monitoring him to come to Liverpool, he could play at centre-half. The opportunity arose for him to go into the team in a back three, where he has been fantastic. He showed the other night when he stepped into midfield that is his position, and he wants to play there, but he always says that he would play anywhere for Liverpool.”
The Reds have been on a stellar run as of late with only a single loss — a narrow defeat to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semi-final — blighting their record since the tail end of December. While much of that has been owed to their new found defensive stability and tactical adjustments, Pascoe wasn’t about to let the contribution of Simon Mignolet go unnoticed.
“It was a fantastic save that Simon made the other night” he said with an obvious sense of pride. “Mario [Balotelli] got all of the headlines with the winning goal. But the goalkeeper made an unbelievable save to win us the game as well. He is a fantastic ‘keeper, he always has been. He is just showing how good he is now.”
