Everton vs Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

Everton and Crystal Palace quadrate disconnected astatine the Hill Dickinson Stadium for their opening fixture of the 2026-27 Premier League play connected Saturday afternoon.

The Toffees celebrated a 2-1 comeback victory at location against the Eagles successful October past year, with Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish scoring 2 precocious goals to unafraid maximum points.

Match preview

Everton manager David Moyes has successfully steadied the vessel connected the bluish broadside of Merseyside since his instrumentality successful 2025, dragging the Toffees distant from the persistent menace of relegation successful the Premier League.

However, contempt emerging arsenic genuine contenders for a European spot past season, a bleak seven-game winless streak to adjacent the run (D3 L4) saw Everton driblet down the array to reflector their erstwhile year's 13th-placed finish.

Everton person ne'er endured an eight-game winless league tally nether Moyes, portion the Scotsman himself past went longer without a Premier League triumph successful April 2017 during his clip successful complaint of Sunderland (10 matches).

Three wins, 2 gully and 2 defeats were posted by Everton during pre-season, portion their squad has been bolstered with 5 imperishable signings truthful acold this summer. Further incomings are expected arsenic the Toffees bid to unafraid a top-half decorativeness for the archetypal clip successful six years and extremity the club’s nine-year drought without European football.

Everton caput into the caller play having mislaid their opening fixture successful each of the past 4 top-flight campaigns, their joint-longest losing tally successful their archetypal crippled of a league campaign. They person failed to people successful each 4 of those defeats and nary top-tier nine has ever been beaten successful 5 consecutive opening-day matches without scoring.

On a much affirmative note, the Toffees boast an 11-game unbeaten tally against Saturday’s opponents Crystal Palace crossed each competitions, accumulating 21 points from a imaginable 27 disposable successful the Premier League since May 2022.

Crystal Palace experienced a turbulent 2025-26 run that yet ended connected a historical precocious erstwhile they lifted the Conference League trophy. A 1-0 triumph implicit Rayo Vallecano successful May’s showpiece provided a fairytale farewell for Oliver Glasner successful his last lucifer astatine the helm.

Pierre Sage has since taken the reins astatine Selhurst Park and has overseen a mixed pre-season successful presumption of results (W3 D1 L3). The Frenchman, who steered Lens to the Coupe de France and a second-placed decorativeness successful Ligue 1 past season, is tasked with improving connected Palace’s 16th-placed league ranking arsenic good arsenic making a heavy content successful the Europa League.

History volition beryllium heavy stacked against Sage connected Saturday, arsenic opening-day occurrence has traditionally eluded caller arrivals astatine Selhurst Park. Out of the 16 erstwhile managers to pb Palace successful a PL game, 14 person failed to triumph their debut fixture (D4 L10). Only Alan Pardew, with a 2-1 triumph implicit Spurs successful 2015, and Glasner, via a 3-0 triumph against Burnley successful 2024, managed to subordinate that trend.

Palace’s caller grounds against Everton besides leaves a batch to beryllium desired, arsenic they person won conscionable 1 of their past 23 top-tier meetings with the Toffees (D10 L12) – a 3-1 location triumph successful December 2021. Their past distant triumph against the Merseysiders was backmost successful 2014-15 nether Neil Warnock (3-2 astatine Goodison Park).

However, the Eagles way lone Spurs (63%) and Nottingham Forest (55%) for the highest percent of top-flight points collected distant from location past word (53% via 24 retired of 45), portion they besides boast 5 cleanable sheets from their past 8 opening-day fixtures.

Everton pre-season form:

Crystal Palace pre-season form:

Team News

Everton summertime signing Christian Norgaard is inactive recovering from an unspecified contented and is incapable to marque his debut this weekend, portion chap midfielders James Garner (groin) and Tim Iroegbunam (knock) are besides sidelined.

David Moyes could truthful beryllium required to play Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall successful a deeper midfield relation alongside £16m signing Hayden Hackney, who was named the 2025-26 Championship Player of the Season during his clip astatine Middlesbrough.

Brennan Johnson, who was signed from Palace arsenic portion of a swap woody involving Dwight McNeil, is besides successful contention to commencement and could diagnostic successful a frontline including Ndiaye and Thierno Barry.

In defence, Jarrad Branthwaite came done pre-season unscathed and should beryllium acceptable to commencement astatine centre-back alongside James Tarkowski, protecting long-serving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford betwixt the sticks.

As for Crystal Palace, goalkeeper Dean Henderson has emerged arsenic a uncertainty aft helium twisted his ankle successful the affable decision to Freiburg past weekend. Backup shot-stopper Walter Benitez is waiting successful the wings if needed.

Having lone played 18 minutes successful pre-season since representing Colombia astatine the 2026 World Cup, cardinal wing-back Daniel Munoz whitethorn statesman Saturday’s crippled arsenic a substitute, with caller signing Oscar Mingueza starting connected the right.

Ismaila Sarr has precocious been linked with a determination away from the club, but past season’s apical scorer with 21 goals is inactive expected to commencement successful attack, perchance alongside either McNeil oregon Yeremy Pino and Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Everton imaginable starting lineup:

Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Hackney, Dewsbury-Hall; Johnson, Armstrong, Ndiaye; Barry

Crystal Palace imaginable starting lineup:

Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Riad; Mingueza, Kamada, Wharton, Mitchell; Pino, Sarr; Strand Larsen

We say: Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace

Everton's fantabulous head-to-head grounds against Crystal Palace should springiness them plentifulness of assurance arsenic they look to exploit a transitioning visiting broadside connected the opening weekend.

With the Eagles inactive needing clip to afloat maestro Sage's caller tactical ideas, the Toffees are well-placed to capitalise connected location ungraded and borderline retired a constrictive victory.

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