Liverpool host Crystal Palace at Anfield on Wednesday in their Matchday 31 exciting fixture of the Premier League.
The Reds are closer than ever to their first Premier League title as they host the Eagles. Everyone predicted seal the title at home if they came out winners from Goodison Park in the Merseyside Derby last week. However, Ancelotti’s side forced the Reds to play a goalless draw on Sunday. Now Liverpool will need two more wins to seal the PL title. The most important player for Klopp this season has been the skipper Jordan Henderson. The underrated midfielder has started 23 games in the league this season scoring three and nagging five assists in the competition so far.
Henderson has been an integral part of Liverpool’s squad since joining them in 2011 from Sunderland for an undisclosed fee. He has seen all the ups and downs and even came closer to lifting the PL title in 2014 but was denied by a shocking draw in the last game of the season. Klopp has completely revolutionised Henderson since joining. Henderson is now a versatile midfielder who can play as a central midfielder as well as a number 6 in the absence of Fabinho. He has amazed everyone with his jaw-dropping performances in this season and is the front-runner for the coveted PFA Player of the Year this season alongside Kevin De Bruyne.
As Liverpool will most certainly seal the Premier League title this season, the next target for the Reds will be breaking the 100 points record Manchester City set in 2018. So, as the Reds face Crystal Palace, Klopp will be looking forward to him to step up and continue his blistering form to keep the Eagles defence guessing.
On the other side is another underrated midfielder Luka Milivojevic. The Serbian midfielder has been an important player in Roy Hodgson’s preferred eleven this season. The 29-year-old has scored 3 goals while also assisting one2 of his teammates in 24 appearances this season. He has not only been wonderful individually but has also played an important role in supporting teammates Kouyate and McArthur.
Despite an injury crisis this season, Palace have been surprisingly well under Hodgson. The Eagles are ninth in the Premier League and are just four points behind fifth-placed Manchester United. Palace can start a late push for the European spots with a positive result at Anfield. For that to be possible, Roy Hodgson will put his faith in Luka Milivojevic. The 29-year-old Serbian international will play an important part in the Eagles’ top-six hopes.
Let’s compare his performances with Jordan Henderson. A comparison between both in regards to the six metrics of goals, assists, passing accuracy, forward passes, aerials and tackles, this season so far. This is based on their 2019-20 Premier League performance.
Goals: In terms of goalscoring ability, both Henderson and Milivojevic have scored three goals.
Assists: In terms of assists, Jordan Henderson has five assists as compared to Milivojevic’s one assist.
Passing success: In terms of passing accuracy, it’s a close fight between the players with Henderson (84.15%) edging Milijoveic (81.41%).
Forward passes: Henderson has made 465 forward passes in the PL as compared to Milivojevic’s 421. But the Serbian has played two games less than the Englishman.
Aerials won: In terms of aerials, Milijoveic has won 29 aerials as compared to Henderson’s 24.
Tackles: Henderson tackles a lot more than Milivojevic. Henderson has 38 tackles so far as compared to Milivojevic’s 27.
