Everton host Crystal Palace at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm. David Moyes begins his second full season at Everton’s new home against a Palace side starting life under Pierre Sage following a disruptive summer.
Tv 1 HD ENGLISH
WATCH HERE;
Everton recorded W6-D5-L8 19 home matches last season, scoring 26 goals and conceding 27. Their performances were built around a defence that ranked far better than the attack, with a home xGA of 1.38 placing sixth in the Premier League compared with a home xG of 1.18 that ranked 17th.
Moyes’ side kept clean sheets in 32% of their home games and failed to score in only 21%, while both teams scored in 53%. Their fixtures averaged 2.79 goals, with 53% finishing over 2.5. Everton also received at least two cards in 76% of their home matches.
Palace finished with W7-D3-L9 on the road, scoring 22 and conceding 28. Their underlying away numbers were stronger than Everton’s home figures, averaging 1.36 xG and 1.28 xGA, which ranked ninth and seventh respectively.
Both teams scored in 53% of Palace’s away games, while they kept a clean sheet in 26% and failed to score at the same rate. Their standout figure was a 63% over 2.5 goals record, with those matches averaging 2.63 goals.
Palace enter the season after losing their head coach and director of football during the same window. Maxence Lacroix joined Chelsea for £52m, while Brennan Johnson completed a move to Everton shortly before the opening weekend.
Pierre Sage arrives from RC Lens following a trophy-winning campaign and has signed Dwight McNeil, Evann Guessand and Anan Khalaili. The issue is preparation time, with much of the Palace squad only coming together during the closing weeks of pre-season.
Their xPTS total of 55.87 was almost 11 points above their actual return of 45 last season, suggesting the final table understated the quality Sage inherited. Several of the people responsible for those performances have since left, reducing the relevance of those numbers heading into this fixture.
Everton have enjoyed a more settled summer under Moyes, spending around £62m and adding Hayden Hackney and Christian Norgaard. Merlin Rohl’s loan was also made permanent, with the recruitment focused on improving a midfield and attack that produced too little last season.
Everton will be without James Garner following groin surgery, while Norgaard is also unavailable and Tim Iroegbunam remains doubtful. Moyes’ side completed their preparations with a 1-1 draw against Lille, with Iliman Ndiaye scoring from the penalty spot before Hakon Haraldsson equalised in stoppage time.
Jordan Pickford made his first appearance since helping England reach the World Cup semi-finals, while Johnson came off the bench for his Everton debut and twice went close to scoring. Palace ended pre-season with a 2-0 defeat against Freiburg, although captain Dean Henderson has recovered from an ankle injury and should start.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!