Palace must weather the Liverpool storm, says Townsend

Crystal Palace must find a way to weather spells of sustained Liverpool pressure in the opening periods of each half if they are to get a result on Saturday, Palace winger Andros Townsend has said.

Liverpool are unbeaten in the league this season and hold an eight-point lead at the top after a 3-1 win over champions Manchester City in their last game. Eight of their 28 league goals have come in the first 15 minutes of each half.

“It’s incredible, I think they make a conscious effort each half to go full throttle for the first 15 minutes,” Townsend told the Premier League website here

“They suss you out for the first 15 minutes and they did that against Manchester City. Even though they were not playing well, they found themselves 2-0 up.”

Townsend said hosts Palace, who sit 12th, would have to play on the counter-attack if they were to have any chance of causing an upset, much like they did in a 2-1 win at Manchester United and 2-2 draw at Arsenal.

“You know you’re not going to get much possession,” he added. “You know you will have to defend for 90 minutes, even as a winger. My main priority … is that I need to be a defender first. If we get counter-attacks, I will attack.

“If you defend well and take your chances at the other side you can definitely pull off a shock, as we have proven many times before.”