Everton and Crystal Palace have a date in the Premier League on match day six of the 2024-25 season. The home side has not had the best of seasons so far in the Premier League in recent times. It has been one relegation fight to the other.

In the 2023-24 campaign, the Toffees were distracted by off-field issues, as they suffered a points deduction earlier in the season for breaching FFP guidelines while their inability to stick the ball in the back of the net has also contributed to their woes this campaign. 

Everton, who have been given multiple punishments due to their excessive spending, have been cautious this summer. The Toffees have struggled to get the best from their recent purchases and that has seen them struggle to get the expected results in recent times. As of the time of writing, forward Iliman Ndiaye joined the club from Marseille for €18.00m, midfielder Tim Iroegbunam arrived from Aston Villa for €10.70m, while another midfielder Jesper Lindstrøm was brought in on loan from Napoli. 

In terms of departures, Everton have lost the following players as of the time of writing – Amadou Onana to Aston Villa for €59.35m, Ben Godfrey to Atalanta for €12.00m, while Lewis Dobbin joined Aston Villa for €11.80m. The likes of Andre Gomes and Dele Alli left the club after the expiration of their contracts. 

On the other hand, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner was handed the job in the second half of the previous season and the Europa League winner worked his magic to ensure the side beat the drop and secure their top-flight status for another season. The Eagles defeated Manchester United, Aston Villa, Newcastle, West Ham United and Liverpool under the Austrian. Palace finished 10th in the 2023-24 Premier League season, winning six and drawing one of their last seven games of the season under Glasner, who replaced Roy Hodgson in February. Following those strides, everyone is looking forward to what they will achieve in the Premier League this season.

Meanwhile, Palace have already lost star forward Michael Olise to Bayern Munich in the transfer window. The French-born star was a mainstay during his time at Selhurst Park and will be greatly missed. As of the time of writing, Eberechi Eze is still at the club but things could change before the end of the transfer window. Other departures include the following players who were released by the club at the end of the season; James Tomkins, Jairo Riedewald and Nathan Ferguson.

In terms of the new signings, the London club have made a couple of signings. As of the time of writing, defender Chadi Riad from Real Betis for €15m, while Daichi Kamada arrived on a free transfer. The team also went ahead to promote David Ozoh to the first team ahead of the new season.

Palace finished the 2023-24 season on a great note and the rest of the Premier League will be mindful of the Eagles and try to stop them in their tracks. Having lost Olise to Bayern Munich in the summer, the Eagles have been handicapped a bit but Eze is capable of doing the magic alongside Mateta.

The last meeting at Goodison Park finished 1-1, while the Toffees won last November’s reverse fixture at Selhurst Park by a 3-2 scoreline, with Idrissa Gueye scoring a late winner. They met four times in total last season – twice in the FA Cup and twice in the Premier League. Everton were unbeaten across those games and will be confident they can keep their fine run going.

It is still early days in the Premier League season, so the two teams might just be finding their feet. However, some teams will want to start very well and build on that and it remains to be seen which of them will fight for all three points right here. 

Match tickets

The epic match at Goodison Park in Liverpool kicks off on Saturday, 28th of September 2024 at 15:00 GMT. 

The 39,572-capacity stadium will host this fixture.

Getting Everton vs Crystal Palace tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels. 

Team news

Line-ups

Sean Dyche has some decisions to make in his starting XI for this season after a couple of departures and all of that. Onana’s place in midfield has to be taken, while he hopes he can get Calvert-Lewin firing back once again after his injury issues. Ashley Young, who extended his stay at the club, is expected to be in the starting lineup, while the likes of Jarrad Branthwaite (if he doesn’t leave) and Keane should provide cover.

Everton: Pickford, Coleman (c), Keane, Branthwaite, Young, Garner, Doucoure, Harrison, McNeil, Beto, Calvert-Lewin.

As of the time of writing, Crystal Palace have a clean bill of health. Oliver Glasner will begin his full term with the hope of continuing from where they stopped last season. There is no more Michael Olise in the team, so Eberechi Eze (If he doesn’t leave) is expected to lead that attack. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson should start, while last season’s breakthrough star Adam Wharton will take charge of proceedings in midfield and Mateta will lead the line. 

Crystal Palace: Johnstone, Ward, Andersen, Richards, Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell, Ayew, Eze, Mateta

Prediction

Everton under Sean Dyche have adopted a direct pattern of play, launching long balls forward from their goalkeeper into their centre-forward and hoping to progress quickly into dangerous positions in the opposition box. 

Crystal Palace became a different side towards the end of last season after Glasner came in as the club’s new manager. They racked up some impressive performances that time and many have their eyes fixed on the Eagles to excel this season. 

Both teams would be looking to get something from the game so we expect them to go all out in this one, making for a really exciting match-up. 

Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace