Now in full-blown crisis mode - if they were not already - Liverpool could lose another shot at silverware when they reunite with Crystal Palace in Wednesday's EFL Cup fourth-round showdown.
Arne Slot's faltering crop have lost five of their last six matches across all competitions, but their capital counterparts are also enduring a miserable run after the end of their club-record unbeaten sequence.
Match preview
The Champions League offered Liverpool some respite amid their Premier League plight last week, but the Reds' 5-1 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt in Europe was not a sign of things to come in the top flight, where the defending champions are in relegation form.
Jordan Henderson's battling Brentford condemned the Reds to their fourth straight Premier League loss in Saturday's 3-2 thriller, making Slot's men just the fourth reigning champions to suffer four consecutive defeats in a Premier League season after Jurgen Klopp's 2020-21 team, 2024-25 Manchester City and 2016-17 Leicester City.
Already matching the same number of top-flight losses they suffered last season, Liverpool can consider themselves rank outsiders to retain their Premier League title, having fallen seven points below an Arsenal side who are teaching the holders lesson after lesson in defensive diligence.
Many fingers are being pointed towards the causes of Liverpool's capitulation -Jamie Carragher recently weighed in with his view of the Reds' "disastrous season" - but just two clean sheets in 14 highlights where the majority of the Reds' issues lie.
The hosts also made hard work of their 2-1 win over Southampton in the third round of the EFL Cup, and they have exited in the fourth round twice in the last five seasons, albeit while also marching to the trophy in 2022 and 2024 before last season's runners-up finish.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner pictured on September 27, 2025
Also making a habit of triumphing at Wembley in the current decade, FA Cup and Community Shield holders Crystal Palace have rarely had anything to shout about in the EFL Cup - a tournament they have never won in their 120-year history.
Only once in the past six years have the Eagles progressed past the fourth round of the competition - reaching last year's quarter-finals before being dumped out by Arsenal - who coincidentally prolonged Palace's pitiful form on Sunday afternoon.
In perhaps the most predictable turn of events, former Eagles star Eberechi Eze haunted his former employers in a 1-0 victory for the Premier League leaders, leaving Palace winless in four and ruing a third defeat since the start of the month.
The visitors' club-record 19-game unbeaten run - which included their EFL Cup third-round penalty-shootout win over Millwall - now seems a distant memory, although their recent successes over Slot's side are anything but.
Indeed, the London outfit can take down Liverpool in three consecutive months after August's Community Shield success and last month's magical Premier League victory at Selhurst Park, and the Eagles are strikingly unbeaten at Anfield since September 2021 too.
Liverpool EFL Cup form:
Liverpool form (all competitions):
L
L
L
L
W
L
Crystal Palace EFL Cup form:
Crystal Palace form (all competitions):
W
W
L
D
L
L
Team News
Curtis Jones of Liverpool in action on October 22, 2025
Injury was added to insult for Liverpool against Brentford, as midfielder Curtis Jones was withdrawn with an unspecified issue midway through the second half, although Slot hinted he was hopeful that the Englishman had avoided a serious issue.
Nevertheless, Jones is a serious doubt for the visit of Palace alongside Alexander Isak (groin) and Ryan Gravenberch (ankle), while Alisson Becker (hamstring), Giovanni Leoni (ACL) and Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring) are guaranteed absentees.
Slot is nevertheless expected to make a plethora of alterations, and two defensive shocks could be among them, as the Reds boss is reportedly considering bringing third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman and forgotten right-back Calvin Ramsay into the first XI.
Meanwhile, there has been no change to Crystal Palace's fitness situation over the past couple of weeks, and the Eagles are only missing Caleb Kporha (back), Chadi Riad (knee) and Cheick Doucoure (knee) for their trip to Merseyside.
Glasner has shown a tendency to keep faith with a core group of starters this season, but fatigue could very well be playing a part in Palace's recent downturn in form, so do not be surprised to see a few alterations on the visitors' end too.
Eddie Nketiah - Palace's match-winner in last month's astonishing beating of Liverpool - leads the queue for promotion from the bench, while former Liverpool defender Nathaniel Clyne is also in line for a start against his erstwhile employers.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Ramsay, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Mac Allister; Chiesa, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha; Ekitike
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Canvot, Lacroix, Guehi; Clyne, Lerma, Hughes, Sosa; Esse, Devenny; Nketiah
SM words green background
We say: Liverpool 2-0 Crystal Palace
Both Liverpool and Palace have bigger fish to fry than the EFL Cup this season, but Slot and Glasner ought to view Wednesday's game as a prime opportunity to rebuild some momentum amid a sluggish spell.
However, Palace's toothless attacking displays against AEK Larnaca and Arsenal cannot be ignored, while Liverpool can almost always be backed to make the net bulge, so the Premier League champions have our vote to pull themselves out of their domestic rut.
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