Everton vs Crystal Palace – News and Probable Lineups

On Saturday afternoon, Everton will face Crystal Palace at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for their first match of the 2026-27 Premier League season.

Last October, the Toffees celebrated a comeback victory at home against the Eagles, winning 2-1 with late goals from Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish.

Match overview

Since returning in 2025, Everton’s head coach David Moyes has successfully stabilized the team, moving the Toffees away from the looming threat of relegation in the Premier League.

However, after positioning themselves as serious contenders for European qualification last season, a disheartening seven-match winless run to conclude the campaign (D3 L4) caused Everton to slide down the standings, mirroring their previous year’s 13th-place finish.

Under Moyes, the club has never suffered an eight-game winless streak in league play, while the manager last faced such a dry spell in the Premier League back in April 2017 during his time with Sunderland (10 matches).

In pre-season, Everton recorded three wins, two draws, and two defeats, while their squad has seen five permanent signings this summer. Additional arrivals are anticipated as the Toffees aim for a top-half finish for the first time in six years and hope to break a nine-year absence from European football.

The Toffees are entering the new season after losing their opening match in the last four top-flight campaigns, marking their joint-longest streak of defeats in the first match of a league season. In those four losses, they failed to score, and no top-tier team has ever experienced five consecutive opening-day defeats without finding the net.

On a brighter note, Everton has an impressive 11-match unbeaten streak against Crystal Palace in all competitions, earning 21 points out of a possible 27 in the Premier League since May 2022.

Crystal Palace had a tumultuous 2025-26 season, which concluded on a high note as they lifted the Conference League trophy. A 1-0 triumph over Rayo Vallecano in the final in May provided a fairy tale send-off for Oliver Glasner as he departed from management.

Pierre Sage has since taken over at Selhurst Park and has managed a mixed pre-season performance (W3 D1 L3). The French coach, who led Lens to the Coupe de França and a second-place finish in Ligue 1 last season, is tasked with improving upon Palace’s 16th-place league finish while also aiming for a substantial impact in the Europa League.

Sage faces a challenging start as historically, new managers at Selhurst Park have struggled on opening day. Out of the 16 previous managers who have led Palace in a Premier League match, 14 failed to secure victory in their debut (D4 L10). Only Alan Pardew, who won 2-1 against Tottenham in 2015, and Glasner, who achieved a 3-0 win against Burnley in 2024, managed to break this trend.

Additionally, Palace’s recent encounters with Everton leave much to be desired, as they have only won once in their last 23 meetings in the top flight (D10 L12) – a 3-1 victory at home in December 2021. Their last away win against the Toffees occurred during the 2014-15 campaign under Neil Warnock (3-2 at Goodison Park).

However, the Eagles were only outdone by Tottenham (63%) and Nottingham Forest (55%) for the highest percentage of top-flight points secured away from home last term (53% by earning 24 of 45 points), and they also recorded five clean sheets in their last eight opening-day matches.

Team News

Everton’s summer signing Christian Norgaard is still in recovery from an unspecified injury and won’t be making his debut this weekend. Additionally, midfielders James Garner (groin) and Tim Iroegbunam (knock) are also ruled out.

In light of this, David Moyes might need to opt for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in a deeper midfield role alongside £16m recruit Hayden Hackney, who was recognized as the 2025-26 Championship Player of the Season while at Middlesbrough.

Brennan Johnson, acquired from Palace as part of a swap deal involving Dwight McNeil, is also likely to be considered for a starting role, potentially joining Ndiaye and Thierno Barry in attack.

Defensively, Jarrad Branthwaite has come through pre-season without issues and is expected to partner with James Tarkowski at center-back, providing protection for experienced goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

For Crystal Palace, goalkeeper Dean Henderson is a doubt after suffering an ankle twist in the friendly defeat to Freiburg last weekend. Backup goalkeeper Walter Benitez is on standby should he be needed.

Having played only 18 minutes in pre-season after representing Colombia at the 2026 World Cup, key wing-back Daniel Munoz may start Saturday’s match on the bench, with new signing Oscar Mingueza likely to take the right-sided position.

Ismaila Sarr has been linked with a transfer away from the club, but last season’s top scorer with 21 goals is still anticipated to start in the attacking lineup, potentially alongside either McNeil or Yeremy Pino and Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Everton probable starting XI:

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

Crystal Palace probable starting XI:

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

Everton’s strong head-to-head record against Crystal Palace should instill confidence as they aim to capitalize on a transitioning visiting team this opening weekend.

With the Eagles yet to fully implement Sage’s tactical strategies, the Toffees are in an excellent position to leverage home advantage and secure a narrow victory.