Crystal Palace and Everton will be desperate to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they face off at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
Gameweek 36 of the 2025/26 Premier League season will continue on Sunday with four games. The action on the day starts with three simultaneous matches, including Crystal Palace vs Everton at Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace may have taken the foot off the pedal in the Premier League, but they have been exceptional in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The Eagles are in the final after making short work of Shakhtar Donetsk, and they will face Rayo Vallecano later this month. However, Oliver Glasner’s men are on a three-game winless run in the Premier League, dropping to 15th in the standings.
Like Crystal Palace, Everton’s recent outings in the Premier League have produced frustrating results. The Toffees are on a four-game winless run in the top flight, and their dreams of securing European qualification are slowly slipping away. However, with seventh-placed Brentford only three points ahead, all is not lost for David Moyes and his charges yet, and three successive wins may earn them a spot in a European competition next season.
The reverse fixture saw Everton come from a goal down to beat Crystal Palace 2-1, with Jack Grealish scoring the late match-winning goal. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner has no new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Crystal Palace head coach will be bereft of the services of four first-team players vs Everton on Sunday.
Cheick Doucoure is a long-term absentee, having been on the sidelines for over a year. Meanwhile, Borna Sosa (knock) and Evann Guessand (knee) are closing in on returning, although Sunday’s game may come too soon for him. Eddie Nketiah (hamstring) is the only other player in the treatment room.
Dean Henderson is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Crystal Palace lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him vs Everton on Sunday. The central defensive unit will feature Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, and Jaydee Canvot. Meanwhile, Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell will start as the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will provide width in the final third and protect the three centre-backs. As for the midfield unit, Adam Wharton will line up alongside Will Hughes in the central areas, with Daichi Kamada and Jefferson Lerma being backup options on the bench. Finally, Jorgen Strand Larsen will lead the line for Palace against Everton, with Ismaila Sarr and Brennan Johnson completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Canvot; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Johnson, Sarr; Strand Larsen
Everton
Like his counterpart in the Crystal Palace dugout, David Moyes has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to Selhurst Park. The Everton head coach will be without three first-team players on Sunday.
Idrissa Gueye is closing in on shrugging off a knock, but Sunday’s game may come too soon for him. Meanwhile, Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring) and Jack Grealish (foot) have played for the final time in the 2025/26 season.
Jordan Pickford is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Everton lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Crystal Palace on Sunday. The backline will feature Jake O’Brien, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, and Vitaliy Mykolenko.
As for the midfield unit, Tim Iroegbunam will line up alongside James Garner in the double pivot, with Merlin Rohl and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall forming a fluid partnership in the advanced areas. Finally, Beto will spearhead the Everton attack against Crystal Palace, with Iliman Ndiaye completing the numbers in the offensive third.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Gueye, Garner; Rohl, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Beto
Key Stats
- Crystal Palace have won just one of their last 22 Premier League games against Everton (D9 L12), and they are winless in eight since a 3-1 win in December 2021 (D2 L6). The Toffees have lost only two of 16 most recent Premier League away games against Crystal Palace (W8 D6), going down 1-0 in October 1994 and 3-1 in December 2021.
- Crystal Palace have lost their last two Premier League matches, shipping three goals in both games (1-3 vs Liverpool, 0-3 vs Bournemouth). The Eagles have not lost three successive matches while conceding three or more goals since October/November 2016.
- After conceding the match-losing goals against Liverpool and West Ham United, and then an equalising strike from Manchester City, Everton became the first team in Premier League history to concede a 90th-minute (or later) result-altering goal in three successive games.
- Since 16 January, when Oliver Glasner announced he was leaving Crystal Palace at the end of the season, Crystal Palace rank 19th for shots (145) and shots on target (43) in the Premier League, ahead only of already relegated Burnley (132 shots, 41 on target).
- Everton have conceded exactly two goals in their last four away Premier League games, though they have now gone 29 away games in a row without conceding more than twice in a game. The last time they went 30 or more doing that was between December 2009 and September 2011 (32).
Player to Watch
Thierno Barry
While Beto, Jorgen Strand Larsen, and Brennan Johnson were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Thierno Barry as the Player to Watch for Sunday’s Premier League clash between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park.
The French striker has scored three goals as a substitute in the Premier League this season, and he found the back of the net twice off the bench against Manchester City earlier this week. Only Victor Anichebe in 2011/12 (4) and Oumar Niasse in 2017/18 (4) have scored more as a sub in a campaign for Everton. So, even though Barry may not start on Sunday, his output will be crucial in what should be a closely-contested affair.
Prediction
Crystal Palace 2-3 Everton
Recent matches between Crystal Palace and Everton have been engrossing affairs, and the reverse fixture went down to the wire. That should also be the theme of Sunday’s match, as both teams have been defensively vulnerable in their recent outings.
However, with Crystal Palace focused on the UEFA Europa Conference League final, Everton may feel the hosts are ripe for the taking. Additionally, David Moyes has an exceptional record against Everton, having won six of his eight away Premier League matches against the South London outfit (L2).
He has only won more games on the road against Aston Villa (7), while only Jurgen Klopp (8) and Pep Guardiola (7) have more away wins against Palace. While there may not be much to separate the two sides for most of the proceedings, Thierno Barry should produce another impressive cameo off the bench to earn his side three points. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-2 win for Moyes and his charges.
