Having been denied victory in gut-wrenching circumstances last time out, Everton head south to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in Saturday’s Premier League battle.
The Toffees were forced to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in gameweek 11, while the hosts piled more misery on Burnley in a 2-0 beating.
Match preview
October had been a month of Halloween horrors for Crystal Palace, who, after sinking Manchester United on September 30, only took one point from a possible three against Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, and Tottenham Hotspur, scoring one goal in the process.
However, Roy Hodgson‘s men were the ones inflicting another fright on Burnley in Lancashire last weekend, as Jeffrey Schlupp and Tyrick Mitchell both capitalized on mistakes from Vincent Kompany‘s defenders to snap Palace’s three-game winless streak and subject the Clarets to a record-breaking sixth consecutive home loss of the season.
Sam Johnstone did not enjoy a completely stress-free afternoon in the Palace goal, but the England international was reliable when called upon as Hodgson’s men maintained their position in mid-table obscurity, currently occupying 11th spot and only adrift of Chelsea on goal difference.
By keeping the Clarets at arm’s length, Palace recorded their fifth clean sheet of the new term at Turf Moor—only Arsenal and Newcastle United can also boast a quintet of shut-outs—but Hodgson’s side have just one win to show from their last six Premier League games at Selhurst Park.
London derbies have often been the bane of the Eagles, though, as from their last 20 Premier League home clashes against teams outside of the English capital, Palace have only been beaten in one of them, and even then Manchester City only traveled home with a 1-0 victory in the bag.
Two Everton left-backs made the net bulge when Brighton made the long journey to Goodison Park last weekend, but unfortunately for the Toffees faithful, only one of them scored at the correct end of the field, as Sean Dyche‘s men were cruelly denied a third successive win across all competitions.
Vitaliy Mykolenko‘s near-post rocket propelled Everton into an early lead against the Seagulls, who then had no answer to their hosts’ defensive might and their own profligacy, but with 84 minutes on the clock, a Karou Mitoma cross struck Ashley Young‘s thigh and flew over Jordan Pickford into the Everton goal.
Despite the heartbreaking manner of the draw, Dyche insisted that his side still gained one point rather than losing two against the Europa League representatives, and the 16th-placed Toffees still hold an unassailable five-point lead over Bournemouth in the relegation zone at this juncture.
Recording a fifth win from their last seven away games would be the perfect medicine to last weekend’s dismay for Everton, whose only loss on the road since September came at the hands of Merseyside rivals Liverpool, and the Toffees could now march to three consecutive league wins in London for the first time since the days of Carlo Ancelotti in November 2020.
History favours the men in blue, as Everton have been beaten in just one of their last 17 Premier League showdowns with Crystal Palace and stormed to a 3-0 win over the Eagles in October 2022, but April’s reunion at Selhurst Park ended without the net rippling once in a forgettable goalless draw.
Team News
The Palace treatment room has slowly emptied out, but the Eagles have been handed yet another attacking blow with Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who is reportedly facing a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury after failing to make the squad at Turf Moor.
Dean Henderson and Nathan Ferguson will not be returning from their thigh injuries just yet either, while James Tomkins is working his way back from a calf problem but would have only warmed a set on the bench anyway, but Michael Olise is fit again and will be involved.
Last weekend also saw the much-anticipated return of Eberechi Eze, who set up Mitchell’s strike after his introduction and should now be considered for a recall to the first XI over Will Hughes.
Meanwhile, Everton managed to hold Brighton to a draw without the services of in-demand midfielder Amadou Onana, who was ruled out of the encounter with a tight calf, but the Belgian has trained alongside Jarrad Branthwaite and Abdoulaye Doucoure, who have been struggling with a knock and illness respectively.
It is as you were in the Toffees’ treatment room otherwise, as Andre Gomes (calf) and Dele Alli (groin) are still on the road to recovery, while Seamus Coleman completed 45 minutes for the Under-21s in their defeat to Manchester United last weekend.
Coleman is unlikely to be considered for a first-team return just yet, though, allowing his fellow veteran Young to continue at right-back as he seeks to make amends for his excruciating own goal against the Seagulls.
Crystal Palace’s possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Lerma, Doucoure; Ayew, Eze, Schlupp; Edouard
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Garner, Gueye, McNeil; Doucoure; Calvert-Lewin
We say: Crystal Palace 0-0 Everton
Although Palace has one of the three most formidable defenses in the Premier League thus far this year, Everton has conceded more goals than any other side in the competition in five of their games in the top level.
Thus, it would be fitting for the football gods to bestow upon the Selhurst Park faithful a barrage of goals; but, the only result we can envision is a low-scoring draw, possibly even a scoreless one.
