Crystal Palace boosted with the return of star ahead of Liverpool clash

Michael Olise is nearing a return to first team action having travelled with the Crystal Palace team to Liverpool for their Premier League clash.

The young forward picked up an injury back in March while on duty with the France under-21 team and has since struggled to find both fitness and form.

He missed large parts of pre-season due to pain in the same area of his ankle and could only watch from the stands as Palace lost 2-0 to Arsenal on Friday night at Selhurst.

The tricky winger is labelled as one of the exciting young footballers in the Premier League and Palace fans are eager to see him back in action.

He joined the Eagles from Reading last summer and wasted little time in endearing himself to the Palace fans, playing a key role in their impressive league and FA Cup journey.

Olise scored two goals and assisted seven in 26 Premier League games as Patrick Vieira’s Blue and Red army finished an impressive 12th on the league table.

His return will be a massive lift to Patrick Vieira’s side who have a tough start to the season having already played Arsenal, will take on Liverpool later today and have a visit to Champions Manchester City on the horizon.

Ahead of the game Patrick Vieira admitted he was excited with the progress Olise had made and was looking forward to having him back with the team for Liverpool.

He told reporters ahead of the game on Monday night: “Michael trained all week with the team, so there is a chance that he will be with the squad.”

Liverpool looking for a home win

Liverpool are already playing catch up to Manchester City and will look to close the gap with their first three points of the season.

Jurgen Klopp was visibly upset when they dropped points against Fulham, blaming the pitch at Craven Cottage for some of their mistakes.

Anfield will be alive and ready but last season, Palace went to the Etihad and beat Manchester City and Vieira is hoping his team can come up with same level of performance.

He added: “The game against City we were well disciplined, well organised and we defended well as a team,”

“We managed to frustrate them until the moment when we could score that goal. Against those teams, it is hard to have possession.

“We accept that, and we will have to work well as a team if we want to get something from the game. 

“It’s about our organisation, how we can be really disciplined, work well and close those kinds of spaces where they can hurt you.

“If we manage to do that well, it will be important for us to be brave and to take those chances to score goals.”