Match Preview
Everton are back at Goodison Park under the lights for the televised Monday night game where they will take on new rivals in the bid to beat the drop in the form of Crystal Palace.
The Eagles have been edging closer to the quagmire at the bottom of the Premier League as injuries to key players have taken their toll and Roy Hodgson has struggled to grind out the points in recent weeks to keep the South London club in mid-table.
On the flip side, Sean Dyche has been able to welcome back some important personnel after injury, with club captain, Seamus Coleman, and the versatile Ashley Young having returned recently and Amadou Onana fit again following a knee problem.
Most importantly, the Abdoulaye Doucouré is back in the fold and working towards sufficient fitness that would enable him to start for the first time since the goalless draw with Aston Villa last month.
Doucouré has been a huge miss in midfield for all but one of a number of games and Dyche said during his press conference yesterday that the club’s medical staff Frenchman will assess him fully over the last couple of training sessions before a final assessment is made over whether he can start.
André Gomes and Arnaut Danjuma have been ruled out with calf and ankle injuries respectively. Gomes has resumed light training but Dyche expressed caution over the Portuguese who has been blighted by the soft-tissue complaint for a few months now.
Danjuma damaged ligaments late in the 0-0 draw at Fulham at the end of January and is a little further away in terms of a return.
The almost full complement poses a good selection headache for Dyche for once, though, in that he finally has central midfield options to consider. Does he give a well-earned break to one of James Garner and Jack Harrison or, if Doucouré is only risked off the bench, does he push the former forward behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin?
Palace travel with a number of issues, not least the health of manager Roy Hodgson who is in hospital in stable condition after falling ill during a training session on Thursday.
It’s possible that the Eagles’ chairman Steve Parish would have sacked him ahead of his team’s trip to Goodison Park had Hodgson not been stricken with illness as there were well-placed reports last week that Oliver Glasner has verbally agreed to replace the 76-year-old.
Ray Lewington is expected to take charge of team affairs in the meantime but he will have to do without those important pieces of the Palace side when it comes to picking a team capable of winning on the road for the first time since early November.
Talented forwards Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze are ruled out along with Cheick Doucouré, a significant miss in central midfield, while Marc Guehi is also expected to be sidelined and Will Hughes is a big doubt.
These two sides have already met three times this season, of course, with Everton having beaten Palace twice, once in the reverse fixture on 11 November and once in the FA Cup replay at Goodison last month.
With Onana back after his substitute’s appearance at the Etihad Stadium last week and Doucouré likely to play some part, the Toffees will feel more confident that they can get back to winning ways having not picked up three points in a League game since beating Burnley over two months ago.
Kick-off: 8pm, Monday 19 February, 2024
Referee: Paul Tierney
VAR: Stuart Attwell
Last Time: Everton – Crystal Palace
Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Coleman, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Gueye, Onana, Garner, McNeil, Doucouré, Calvert-Lewin