There is more to Liverpool than Salah and Mane- Vieira

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira has played down the absence of crucial Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane for Sunday’s meeting at Selhurst Park.

The Reds will again be without their two main attackers, who are away competing at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

It will no doubt boost Palace, who lost 3-0 to Liverpool in September with the pair on target and both hit doubles against the south London outfit last season too.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have coped well without Salah and Mane, winning three of the four games they have missed to progress in two cup competitions and move up to second in the Premier League.

Vieira said: “Liverpool is a team. It is not just about those two players they are missing.

“Obviously, with those two players they are stronger, but there are still a couple of players who are playing well with fantastic talents, so the best way to describe this team, before talking about individual talents, is to talk about the team – and this is a strong team.”

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Diogo Jota stepped up in the absence of Salah and Mane on Thursday to fire Liverpool to a 2-0 win away to Arsenal, which booked a spot in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley next month.

Roberto Firmino is another example of the rich attacking talent at Anfield, and the Brazilian has six goals in 12 appearances against Palace.

He missed the clash between the teams earlier in the campaign, which ended 3-0 but hit a double in a 7-0 win for Liverpool in south London last season.

“No, it didn’t feel like a 3-0, but it was,” Vieira, who replaced Roy Hodgson in the summer, added.

Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool will not get carried away and “celebrate like kids” over a first trip to Wembley in six years as there is business to be done in the Premier League.