Liverpool survived a major shock at Anfield on Saturday against visitors Crystal Palace who reproduced a similar performance as they did when beating Manchester City 3-2 just before Christmas. Townsend gave Palace a shock first half lead with another goal of the season contender, then the Reds hit back hard after the break with goals from strikers Salah and Firmino but Palace were still fighting and they pegged Liverpool back thanks to defender Tomkins clever header from a corner.

Liverpool top scorer Salah increased his value further with his second make it 3-2 with fifteen minutes remaining, Mane sealed the comeback and vital fourth three minutes in to injury time and Palace somehow managed to net their third five minutes in to injury time but there was no time left for Palace to find a fourth, which insured Liverpool maintained their four point lead over nearest rivals Manchester City who made light work of beating Huddersfield 0-3 on Sunday.

Chelsea were a shadow of their former selves when they lost 2-0 against London rivals Arsenal at the Emirates and because Manchester United won against Brighton 2-1 the gap between them and Chelsea is now only one point. Spurs maintained third spot on five points behind Man City and four points ahead of Chelsea thanks to a 2-1 win at London rivals Fulham. Newcastle United gave their survival hopes a big boost on Saturday thanks to dominant 3-0 home win against fellow relegation strugglers Cardiff and the three points lifted Newcastle up to fourth bottom, two points clear of third bottom Cardiff, followed by Fulham and rock bottom Huddersfield.

Selections:

None.