Mignolet wary of Crystal Palace counterpunch
Simon Mignolet has identified Crystal Palace's pacey counter-attacks as the main threat Liverpool must be wary of ahead of Sunday's meeting between the two sides.
Alan Pardew's team twice defeated the Reds in the Barclays Premier League last term, running out 3-1 victors at both Selhurst Park and Anfield.
On both occasions, the Eagles soaked up pressure before springing up the pitch to great effect through fleet-footed attackers such as Wilfried Zaha, Yannick Bolasie and Jason Puncheon.
And Mignolet has warned his teammates not to fall into the same trap again when the south Londoners visit Merseyside this weekend.
"They’ve got very pacey wingers and strikers," he told Liverpoolfc.com.
"They’re tough to beat and on the counter-attack and at set pieces, they’re always difficult.
"I think that’s what they’re going to look for – to try and play on the counter-attack at Anfield.
"On the break with their quick players, they will be a threat, and at set pieces it will be very, very important for us to defend.
"When you look back at those games, we can learn a lot of things from them to take forward.
"We know what it’s going to be like when we come to play them, we know what their strengths and weaknesses are, so we’ll make sure we prepare ourselves as best we can."
The Reds have lost just once at home this season, a 3-0 defeat to West Ham United at the end of August.
But draws against Norwich City, FC Sion, Rubin Kazan and Southampton have combined to make for a frustrating start to the 2015-16 campaign at Anfield.
Mignolet wants to see that poor points return remedied and sees no reason why wins won't be forthcoming if Jürgen Klopp's side can simply evidence their superiority to the majority of sides who visit.
"It’s not about [Crystal Palace], when we play at home at Anfield we have to take the game to the opposition and we have to play the football we want to play," he insisted.
"The league is very tight and there are no weak teams, so every game is difficult – especially when you play at Anfield.
"Other teams will be first try to look to be tough to beat, and then try to look for that counter-attack or a set piece to try and score a goal, which you also have to be careful of.
"There are not going to be any easy games, but if we’re at our best there is nothing to be afraid of."
Last weekend's win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge moved Liverpool to within four points of the top four and helped open up a six-point gap between themselves and one of their likely rivals for Champions League qualification.
Not that the club's No.22 would know, however, as he insists the focus is on improving performances rather than looking at the current standings.
"There is always room for improvement. As I’ve said, there’s no point in looking at the table as of yet," he added.
"We’re just have to take every game as it comes and try to win the next three points.
"Everything is step-by-step, we’ll focus on our next game and then see where we will end up in the league at the end of the season."