Crystal Palace full-back Patrick Van Aanholt says he is ready to “shut down” Mohamed Salah when the Eagles visit Anfield on Saturday afternoon.
Liverpool go into the game looking to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to seven points before Manchester City face Huddersfield Town on Sunday, but Palace will be hoping to spoil the Reds’ plans.
Van Aanholt admitted that Salah is one of the best players in the country, but said that he is looking forward to facing him and doing all he can to “shut down” the Egyptian star.
The Dutch international told Sky Sports, as cited in the Liverpool Echo:
I always want to play against the best and Salah is one of the best in the league. It’s my time to shut him down and make sure he doesn’t score or play well.
Palace have won their last two away games, against Manchester City and Wolves, and they’ll be looking to make it three on the spin this weekend and Van Aanholt thinks his side are capable of pulling off another major upset.
It’s going to be hard, especially at Anfield . We know they are going to come at us and press us. We just need to focus on our game and see what happens. Wins always give us a boost. To win against the champions was special. If we can beat Liverpool like we beat City then I’ll be very happy. As well as the front three, they have (Xherdan) Shaqiri and (Daniel) Sturridge so it’s going to be hard but we’re capable of doing it. We did it against Manchester City so why can’t we do it again?
