Everton will make the long journey south to the newly-fortified Selhurst Park to meet Crystal Palace in Saturday afternoon's Premier League contest.

The Roy Hodgson resurgence continued for the Eagles in a 2-0 win over Southampton last time out, while the Toffees were defeated 3-1 at home by Fulham.

Match preview

While a customary case of new manager bounce was expected, few could have anticipated the remarkable revival for those in blue and red upon Hodgson's return to the dugout, securing their third successive win at basement side Southampton last Saturday.

Needing a spark of inspiration after a goalless first 45 minutes, Eberechi Eze delivered for the Eagles, breaking the deadlock in the 54th minute before a sharp turn and stunning solo effort just 14 minutes later, steering Palace well clear of the dreaded dotted line.

The Eagles are not out of the woods by any stretch, but they are the best-placed team in the relegation dogfight, sitting pretty in 12th place in the table - only one spot and three points worse off than Chelsea - and nine clear of the relegation zone heading into the final straight.

As such, Hodgson's men could incredibly draw level with the faltering Blues if they can stretch their winning run to four games this weekend, and the 75-year-old was the last man to oversee a quartet of top-flight wins for Crystal Palace, doing so in the behind-closed-doors days of June 2020.

A shut-out at St Mary's also ended a six-game run without a clean sheet for Crystal Palace, but the Eagles have already won six times this season after going behind, so the panic button will not be pressed if Everton can draw first blood in the English capital.

Atoning for his own goal in Fulham's lowly loss to West Ham United, Harrison Reed lit the blue touch paper at Goodison Park to set the Cottagers on their way to victory against Everton, who could have had few complaints about the result come the final whistle.

Dwight McNeil had drawn the hosts level following Reed's opener, but Daniel James and Harry Wilson both responded for Fulham to plunge Sean Dyche's men deeper into demotion danger, extending the Toffees' winless run in the top flight to four games and leaving them dangling just above the dotted line.

With seven games remaining to save their Premier League bacon, 17th-placed Everton are only keeping their heads above water courtesy of a superior goal difference to 18th-placed Nottingham Forest, while Leicester City are also breathing down the Toffees' necks.

Brought in with the sole purpose of leading Everton away from the basement door, Dyche warned his side not to "revert" to old habits, but he is yet to break their lengthy abysmal run on the road, which has seen Everton go 11 games without a Premier League away win since beating Southampton on October 1.

Only Nottingham Forest (six) have taken fewer points on unfamiliar territory than Everton (nine) this term, and the Toffees have also conceded at least twice in all of their top-flight away games in 2023 so far, but Palace went down 3-0 at Goodison Park earlier this season and have just one win to boast from their last 16 versus their Merseyside counterparts.

Team News

Palace are expected to remain without the services of Wilfried Zaha (groin) and Vicente Guaita (calf) for this weekend's encounter, but both men are on course to be fit before the end of the month, and the same can be said for long-term absentee Nathan Ferguson.

Right-back Nathaniel Clyne was the victim of a knee injury before the win over Southampton, which should not keep the Englishman out for long, but Palace have coped just fine without their infirmary occupants and should stick with their winning formula on Saturday.

Eze could score in three successive fixtures for the first time in English football this weekend, and he will be joined in the final third by the promising Michael Olise, who is reportedly planning to snub interest from Arsenal to remain at Selhurst Park.

Meanwhile, Everton's Andros Townsend will not reunite with his old employers this weekend as he recovers from a knee injury, while Abdoulaye Doucoure is serving the third and final game of his three-match ban.

Dyche's midfield ranks were decimated further when Amadou Onana missed last week's loss with a groin strain, joining Seamus Coleman (thigh), Ruben Vinagre (Achilles) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (thigh) on the sidelines, but the former Lille man is in with a chance of coming back for this one.

Calvert-Lewin is unlikely to be risked from the off amid his persistent fitness troubles, though, while Ben Godfrey's spot is certainly at risk after he was singled out for Wilson's goal last weekend.

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Schlupp, Doucoure, Eze; Olise, Edouard, Ayew

Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Patterson, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Gray, Onana, Iwobi, Gueye, McNeil; Simms

We say: Crystal Palace 2-0 Everton

While Palace have coped remarkably well without star attacker Zaha, the same cannot be said for Everton without Calvert-Lewin, and another miserable away day awaits Dyche's team this weekend.

The Eagles have been creating and taking chances for run since Hodgson took the reins again, and we expect Palace to inch ever closer to survival with a professional performance against a ravaged Toffees squad.


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