Palace Preview: Eagles look to put tricky week behind them v Everton

Match previews

18 Nov 2021

Crystal Palace return to Selhurst Park on Sunday, 12th December to take on Everton, as they look to put a difficult run of results behind them.

Previous meetings

Last season’s Selhurst Park fixture went the way of the visitors, a Richarlison penalty giving Everton all three points after Cheikhou Kouyaté had cancelled out Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s opener. It was a significant occasion for James McArthur, who became just the second player to reach the milestone of 200 appearances for Palace in the Premier League, after Wilfried Zaha.

The reverse fixture was more successful, with a late Michy Batshuayi equaliser seeing the Eagles secure a well-deserved point at Goodison Park

Preview

After a frantic week which saw Palace play three times within eight days – twice on the road – this week has been a welcome break for Patrick Vieira and his side. Late defeats to Leeds United and Manchester United in the north-west were tough to take for the manager, particularly the former at Elland Road coming via a controversial 94th minute penalty.

The two defeats followed a difficult afternoon against Aston Villa at Selhurst Park, Palace’s first home defeat of the Premier League campaign.

“We will need to recover because three games was really demanding for us,” Vieira said after full-time at Old Trafford. “A couple of players will be back from injury [against Everton] and I’m really looking forward to the next home games.

“To play at home in front of our fans, where we will need to bounce back by winning football matches… I’m really looking forward to the game.”

Despite that Villa defeat, Palace’s home record this season remains strong. Impressive victories against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur have been consolidated with comeback draws against Leicester City, and the Eagles could climb back into the top-half with victory on Sunday.

Everton’s strong start to the season has subsided and their recent results have made for tough reading. They have won just one of their last nine Premier League games since September, including heavy defeats to Watford and rivals Liverpool.

Victory over Arsenal on Monday night was welcome relief for new manager Rafael Benitez, and sees the Toffees sitting 12th in the table, just two points ahead of Palace.

The meeting will bring back a welcome reunion with Andros Townsend, who made 185 appearances for the club in a five-year spell.

Tactical overview

Patrick Vieira has been forced to adapt in recent weeks with Joachim Andersen and James McArthur unavailable. Cheikhou Kouyate has provided energy in midfield alongside Conor Gallagher, with either Jeffrey Schlupp or Luka Milivojevic in support.

Palace have a plethora of attacking options to choose from, with Christian Benteke, Wilfried Zaha, Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise all getting on the scoresheet this season.

Much of Everton's threat may come from one of their most astute pieces of business this summer: Demarai Gray. The 25-year-old arrived at Goodison Park to little fanfare, but has scored five times since including a stunning last minute winner against Arsenal on Monday night.

He could start on the left-hand side for the Toffees, with Andros Townsend and Richarlison supporting the attack.

Team news

Palace will assess the fitness of Joachim Andersen after the Danish defender returned to first-team training this week. Eberechi Eze is also "doing well" according to Patrick Vieira, after making his first cameo appearances since injury in recent weeks.

However, Vieira will be without James McArthur for the visit of Everton, as well as Nathan Ferguson who is progressing in his journey back to full fitness.

Rafael Benitez will hope Yerry Mina is fit to start after he picked up an injury against Arsenal, while Mason Holgate could return.

Match details

Sunday, 12th December
16:30 GMT
Selhurst Park
Sky Sports

How to follow

On Palace TV+

Live audio commentary Palace v Everton will be available on Palace TV+, a subscription service which gives subscribers live access to selected Academy match broadcasts, live audio commentary of all league and cup first-team games, and much more.

Find out more by clicking here.

Social media

You can check out our Instagram story for all of the pre-match build-up and our official Twitter page is bringing you up-to-the-minute match updates, eye-catching photos and more.

Our club website, cpfc.co.uk, is the place to go for team news on the dot, an instant report and all the post-match votes.

The official app

The official Palace app’s match centre is the place to be for everything you need during the Everton clash. With live stats and alerts, a running match commentary feed and lineups the moment they’re released as well as an instant match report and post-match reaction from Palace TV+, there’s no need to leave the app to follow the Eagles’ efforts.

Download our app for free here!

First-team
Match previews

Related News

More News