Three losses in a row has seen Palace join the bottleneck in the bottom half of the table, so it would be a welcome return to winning ways at Selhurst against Everton and an under fire Rafa Benitez.
DATE
12th December 2021
KICK OFF
4.30pm
VENUE
Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU
LAST TIME
Everton last made the trip down to South London in September 2020 and they were quick off the mark courtesy of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Palace found a quick response through Cheikhou Kouyate but Richarlison gave the visitors a lead they never gave up before the break and the points were taken back to Merseyside.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Cheikhou Kouyate (7.9)
OFFICIALS
Referee: Andy Madley. Assistants: Adrian Holmes, Simon Beck. Fourth official: Tony Harrington. VAR: Stuart Attwell. Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – James McArthur (hamstring) and Nathan Ferguson (calf) are both expected to miss out. Joel Ward returns from suspension while Joachim Andersen faces a late fitness test.
EVERTON – Dominic Calvert-Lewin (thigh), Yerry Mina (calf) and Tom Davies (knee) are ruled out. Salomon Rondon (thigh) is available again after injury while Allan faces a late fitness test.
DISCIPLINARY
RED CARDS – Mason Holgate (1)
YELLOW CARDS (4+) – Richarlison (5), Joel Ward (5), Conor Gallagher (4), Lucas Digne (4)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 05/04/21 Everton 1-1 Palace
- 26/09/20 Palace 1-2 Everton
- 08/02/20 Everton 3-1 Palace
- 10/08/19 Palace 0-0 Everton
- 27/04/19 Palace 0-0 Everton
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 05/12/21 United 1-0 Palace
- 30/12/21 Leeds 1-0 Palace
- 27/11/21 Palace 1-2 Villa
- 20/11/21 Burnley 3-3 Palace
- 06/11/21 Palace 2-0 Wolves
Last FIVE results for Everton;
- 06/12/21 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
- 01/12/21 Everton 1-4 Liverpool
- 28/11/21 Brentford 1-0 Everton
- 21/11/21 Man City 3-0 Everton
- 07/11/21 Everton 0-0 Spurs
RECORD AGAINST EVERTON
- Played 53
- Won 12
- Drawn 19
- Lost 22
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Conor Gallagher 7.41
- Christian Benteke 7.00
- Abdoulaye Doucoure 6.98
- Demarai Gray 6.95
ONE TO WATCH
ANDROS TOWNSEND
FORMER CLUBS – Tottenham Hotspur, Yeovil Town (loan), Leyton Orient (loan), Milton Keynes Dons (loan), Ipswich Town (loan), Watford (loan), Millwall (loan), Leeds United (loan), Birmingham City (loan), Queens Park Rangers (loan), Newcastle United, Crystal Palace
Palace know only too well about former players returning to haunt them, and Andros is no different. He arguably left Palace somewhat reluctantly and he had and still has plenty of fans at Selhurst Park and he will rightly get applauded on his return.
KEY CLASH
MARC GUEHI v RICHARLISON
The young Palace defender is proof of the impact that Vieira has made on this team by being the leading passer of the ball at the club and having had the most touches, both in the Premier League top ten. He will be up against the tricky Brazilian striker who netted in the comeback victory against Arsenal on Monday night.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Palace are winless in the past 13 league meetings with Everton
- Everton’s run of 10 league games unbeaten at Selhurst Park is a tally bettered just twice at any away ground in their top-flight history: 11 matches at Preston between 1897 and 1911, and 15 at Liverpool between 1899 and 1914
- Palace’s solitary league win in 12 attempts at home to Everton came in 1994. They’ve scored 6 goals in total during that run
- Palace have suffered 3 consecutive league defeats, having lost just twice in their opening 12 matches
- Palace have scored 5 first-half goals this season, the fewest of any Premier League team bar Wolves prior to the weekend. However, they can equal the club Premier League record of scoring in 7 successive home matches
- Christian Benteke’s tally of 5 headed goals in 2021 is the highest of any Premier League player
- Patrick Vieira won a career-best 13 Premier League matches as a player against Everton
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Benteke/Zaha/Gallagher (4 – 20th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Gallagher (3 – 14th in PL)
- PASSES – Guehi (969 – 7th in PL)
- TACKLES – Mitchell (45 – 2nd in PL)
- TOUCHES – Guehi (1123 – 9th in PL)
- SHOTS – Benteke (34 – 13th in PL)
- SAVES – Guaita (42 – 9th in PL)
DID YOU KNOW?
Setting the trend for future stadiums, Goodison Park was the first, purpose-built stadium in England and opened on 24th August 1892. It was also the first stadium in England to introduce dugouts for managers, floodlights and under soil heating. Everton were also the first club to have a church attached to its stadium.
PREDICTION
Everton travel to Selhurst Park perhaps breathing a little easier after their win against Arsenal, but pressure remains on manager Rafa Benitez. Meanwhile, Patrick Vieira will been keen on getting Palace out of their slump and the next few games gives them a good opportunity to do so. If the Frenchman addresses a few of the issues that have been troubling the Eagles in recent games, then it could be a welcome return to winning ways.
FINAL SCORE: 3-1 to Palace
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 6/5
- Draw – 2/1
- Away – 12/5
- Both teams to score – 10/11
RESOURCES
