Around this time last year, Everton took on Crystal Palace at home and produced a maddening second half to stay up. At that point, then coach Frank Lampard got carried away in the euphoria and you could be forgiven for thinking the Toffees had won the league. Now under the far more methodical Sean Dyche, Everton come to London to play Palace knowing that they need a result even more than they did last year.
Crystal Palace News
Prior to a hat-trick of wins under Roy Hodgson, Crystal Palace looked certain for the drop under Patrick Vieira. Three stabilising wins, though, including a 5-1 trouncing of Leeds away from home, has left Palace in pretty good shape. Their last result, a 2-0 win away at Southampton, more or less guaranteed safety.
They come into this one knowing they need to find form at home, though, with home wins few and far between in 2023.
Everton News
This is the closest the Blues have been to a relegation in the best part of thirty years. They come into this game knowing they need some kind of positive result, but playing against a team with three wins on the belt and a positive feelgood factor around the place seems unlikely. Everton also have a fair few injuries building up, with only their decent record against Palace in recent memory something to hold onto.
Verdict
Everton look primed to be relegated after several years of flirting with such a disaster. Expect them to come out flying here, but if they do not score early their season-long issue of conceding on the counter is almost certain to pop back up. Home win.
Score Prediction: 2-1
