To be honest, the Philippe Coutinho transfer saga is taking all the footage away from Liverpool FC's preparation and performances in the English Premier League so far. The Coutinho to Barcelona saga is set to continue until the first week of September and then, things can fall back on line again at Liverpool.

It's an aura of worry at Anfield at the moment with the likes of Jurgen Klopp, the players, the management, the owners and the LFC fans tensed about Coutinho's future.

Nevertheless, the matches have to go on as usual and the Reds will be hoping not to falter again on Gameweek 2 of the EPL 2017-18 season. The Reds were held 3-3 by Watford last week.

On Saturday August 19, it is back to Anfield for the club as they entertain Crystal Palace. The Eagles enter the match at the back of a 0-3 bashing against newly-promoted side Huddersfield.

mohamed salah, liverpool
Mohamed SalahAlex Broadway/Getty

Coutinho is set to miss the game again on Saturday owing to his so-called back injury. In the Brazilian's absence, the Reds haven't been bad anyway. The likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and especially new signing Mohamed Salah, have remained standout performers, both in the pre-season as well as against Watford last week.

In the midweek, Liverpool bagged a 2-1 win over Hoffenheim in a Champions League qualifier match, where right full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a stunner from a free kick.

It needs to be seen if the experienced James Milner gets the first start of the season on Saturday, or if Alexander-Arnold wins the race for the right back spot.

Expected lineup

Liverpool: Mignolet; Matip, Lovren, Milner, Moreno; Henderson, Emre Can, Wijanldum; Salah, Mane, Firmino.

Crystal Palace: Hennessey; Dann, Riedewald, Fosu-Mensah, Van Aanholt; Puncheon, Milivojevic, Ward, Townsend; Benteke, Loftus-Cheek.

Match schedule

  • Date: August 19
  • Time: 3 pm BST (7:30 pm IST)
  • Venue: Anfield

Where to watch live

India: TV - Star Sports Select 1 / HD. Live stream - Hotstar.

UK: No TV broadcast. Radio commentary - BBC Radio 5 Live, TalkSport.

Live streaming (subscription based) - LFCTV Go.

Live updates - Twitter.