Palace fell to their sixth defeat of the season as they lost 3-1 to Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday - goals from Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard sending them them to defeat, with Dwight Gayle netting a consolation.

Holloway's preparations for the tough clash were made harder by injuries to key players - Kagisho Dikgacoi, Danny Gabbidon and Jonathan Parr - in midweek.

However, the 50-year-old remains confident his side will improve when he has a settled squad to pick from.

"I think we'll improve," Holloway said.

"The character of our players will improve. Already this week I’ve had  a complete hammer blow by losing Kagisho Dikgacoi, Danny Gabbidon and Jonny Parr.

"I've had an 18-year-old kid on the bench, Ryab Inniss who's a centre-half. I need a settled group, particularly with all the changes.

"But I think you saw the character particularly with (Mile) Jedinak and (Damien) Delaney to settle us down and be strong enough to win us the second half."

Palace’s defeat leaves them second from bottom in the Premier League with three points from their opening seven games.