Everton and Crystal Palace square off in their opening fixture of the 2026-27 Premier League season this Saturday afternoon, when the Toffees host the Eagles at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Despite emerging as genuine contenders for a European spot last season, a bleak seven-game winless streak to close the campaign (D3 L4) saw Everton drop down the table to finish 13th with 49 points from 38 matches. They ended the campaign with a 1-0 away defeat to Tottenham.
David Moyes side heads into the new season having lost their opening fixture in each of the last four top-flight campaigns, their joint-longest losing run in their first game of a league campaign. They have failed to score in all four of those defeats and no top-tier club has ever been beaten in five consecutive opening-day matches without scoring.
On a more positive note, the Toffees boast an 11-game unbeaten run against Saturday’s opponents Crystal Palace across all competitions, accumulating 21 points from a possible 27 available in the Premier League since May 2022.
Everton have strengthened their squad this summer, with right-winger Brennan Johnson arriving from Crystal Palace, while attacking midfielder Merlin Roehl, left-winger Tyrique George and defensive midfielder Hayden Hackney are also among their main additions.
Left-winger Dwight McNeil has moved in the opposite direction to Palace, with defensive midfielder Idrissa Gueye, central midfielder Tyler Onyango and right-back Seamus Coleman among the other notable departures.
Crystal Palace, who finished 15th in the 2025/26 Premier League with 45 points from 38 matches, also endured a difficult second half of the season as they balanced their European commitments with Oliver Glasner announcing that he would leave the club.
The Eagles ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-1 home defeat to Arsenal at Selhurst Park.
However, the campaign ultimately ended on a historic high when they lifted the Conference League trophy. A 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in May’s showpiece provided a fairytale farewell for Glasner in his final match at the helm.
Pierre Sage has since taken the reins at Selhurst Park. The Frenchman, who steered Lens to the Coupe de France and a second-placed finish in Ligue 1 last season, is tasked with improving on Palace’s 16th-placed league ranking as well as making a deep impression in the Europa League.
Crystal Palace have made a number of moves in the transfer market this summer, with left-winger Dwight McNeil, right-back Anan Khalaili, right-winger Zavier Gozo, right-back Oscar Mingueza and centre-back Takehiro Tomiyasu among their notable additions.
Centre-back Maxence Lacroix, right-winger Brennan Johnson and right-back Danny Imray are among the players to have departed the club.
History is heavily stacked against Palace as they have won just one of their last 23 top-tier meetings with the Toffees (D10 L12), a 3-1 home win in December 2021. Their last away victory against the Merseysiders was back in 2014-15 under Neil Warnock (3-2 at Goodison Park).
However, the Eagles trail only Spurs (63%) and Nottingham Forest (55%) for the highest percentage of top-flight points collected away from home last term (53% via 24 out of 45), while they also boast five clean sheets from their last eight opening-day fixtures.
Everton predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Jordan Pickford (GK), Jake O'Brien, James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Merlin Roehl, Harrison Armstrong, Iliman Ndiaye, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tyrique George, Thierno Barry.
Crystal Palace predicted lineup (3-4-2-1): Walter Benitez (GK), Jaydee Canvot, Chris Richards, Chadi Riad, Oscar Mingueza, Daichi Kamada, Adam Wharton, Tyrick Mitchell, Ismaila Sarr, Dwight McNeil, Joergen Strand Larsen
