Crystal Palace cheekily teased Liverpool ahead of this week’s Carabao Cup clash at Anfield with a grinning image of Marc Gehi. Liverpool’s recent form has been erratic at best, losing five of their last six games in all competitions, including one against Palace just a month ago. The South Londoners also beat the Reds in the Community Shield in August, securing victory on penalties.
He then canceled Gehi’s move to Anfield on deadline day, frustrating Liverpool in the transfer window. It’s no exaggeration to say that Palace have been a constant thorn in Liverpool’s side lately, and they have another chance to upset the Reds on Wednesday.
Ahead of the match, Palace posted on X (formerly Twitter): “We play Liverpool again, this time in the Carabao Cup.” The message included a photo of a beaming Guehi.
Given the summer events involving Gehi, Liverpool and Palace, the choice of this particular image felt very deliberate.
In other news, it has been confirmed that Arne Slott will not address the media ahead of Tuesday’s game against Crystal Palace.
Managers and head coaches are contractually required to hold pre-match press conferences before Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League matches, but this obligation does not apply to Carabao Cup matches.
Liverpool therefore chose not to schedule a game on Tuesday, mirroring their approach against Southampton last week.
Liverpool had sent a delegation to Paris for that evening’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, including Slott and his coaching team.
It is not uncommon for clubs to be absent from Carabao Cup press conferences. Liverpool’s city rivals Everton, Manchester United and Manchester City usually don’t care about that.
In the past, Jurgen Klopp has often delegated his assistant Pepin Lijnders to answer questions from journalists.
However, Slott held a pre-match press conference before all six Carabao Cup games last season. The Reds reached the final, defeating West Ham, Brighton, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, before losing to Newcastle.
