Crystal Palace take on Everton in the FA Third Round clash at Selhurst Park on Thursday, 4 January at an 8 PM UK Time kick-off. In what is both the teams’ first game of 2024, they will be eager to keep their FA Cup dreams alive and move forward to the latter stages with a comprehensive win.
This should be a pretty entertaining clash between two teams who have sprung some surprises against prominent oppositions this season. Neither side will be ready to exit the FA Cup this early, meaning they’ll both treat this like a final to get into the fourth round.
Last 5 games
Both teams have had similarly shaky form in the last few weeks, but at least Crystal Palace were able to win their last match of 2023 before the turn of the year heading into this clash.
Crystal Palace
Win: 3-1 vs Brentford
Loss: 2-1 vs Chelsea
Draw: 1-1 vs Brighton
Draw: 2-2 vs Manchester City
Loss: 2-1 vs Liverpool
Everton
Loss: 3-0 vs Wolves
Loss: 3-1 vs Manchester City
Loss: 2-1 vs Tottenham Hotspur
Loss: 1-1 (7-6) vs Fulham
Win: 2-0 vs Burnley
Predicted Lineups
The biggest blow that Crystal Palace have faced ahead of this FA Cup game is discovering that winger Michael Olise will be out after suffering an injury against Brentford. Cheick Doucoure is out for the rest of the season with a bad injury, while goalkeeper Sam Johnstone is also out injured. Jordan Ayew has travelled for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Everton will probably be without influential midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure due to a thigh injury he picked up a few weeks ago. Ashley Young is a doubt too, while Idrissa Gueye is poised to travel for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Crystal Palace: Dean Henderson (GK), Nathaniel Clyne, James Tomkins, Marc Guehi, Tyrick Mitchell, Chris Richards, Will Hughes, Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jeffrey Schlupp, Odsonne Edouard
Everton: Jordan Pickford (GK), Seamus Coleman, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Jack Harrison, Andre Gomes, Amadou Onana, Dwight McNeil, Beto
Head-to-Head
Crystal Palace and Everton last faced each other in the FA Cup back in 2022, when the Eagles picked up a huge 4-0 win at Selhurst Park. However, in their last five Premier League games against the Toffees, Palace have only been able to win once.
Everton have won three of their lats four games against the London team, including a thrilling 3-2 win at Selhurst Park earlier in this campaign.
Where the game will be decided
This should be a tight affair between the two Premier League sides and one that might be influenced by the side who can control the midfield battle comparatively better. Everton will probably look to go for a defence-first approach and hit Palace on the counter-attacks or through their terrorizing set-piece routines.
Roy Hodgson’s side are currently limping on injuries, but this will represent an opportunity for some of the bench-warmers to prove their quality by putting in efficient displays. Expect a lot of crossing football in this game and one that might be dominated by set-pieces too.
Prediction
We are backing this to be a scoring draw because of how similar the situation of both the teams is looking like right now. Palace are missing some key forward players that can restrict their ability to really blow away Everton, despite the Toffees’ wobbly defensive form. This would, of course, mean that the two sides need to play a third-round replay at Goodison Park in the near future.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-1 Everton
Odds
Draw
Both the teams’ inconsistent run of form heading into this clash is probably why prominent bookmakers like Sky Bet, Betfair and BetVictor are all giving 11/5 odds on a draw – meaning one could get a $3.20 return for every $1 bet on this result.
Everton Win
The Toffees are given a 7/4 odds to win the game ie someone betting $1 on their victory will get a profit of $1.75 and a $2.75 return.
Palace Win
Meanwhile, Bet365 have a Crystal Palace win set at 6/4 odds, meaning a $1 bet can garner a total return of $2.50.
Special Deals
A few have special offers in place for those interested in signing up for their platforms. For one, Bet365 and Sky Bet are offering a £30 free bets for signing up with £10, with these free credits that can be used for the settlement of a deposit.
Bet365 also gives a 2 Goals early payout special offer, meaning you can get a single bet paid out early if the team you back gets ahead by two goals. Sky Bet has an Acca Freeze offer, which allows you to freeze a winning score and get a return for the same.
Please note that Gambling involves a lot of risk. It is of utmost importance to gamble responsibility and only use funds that one is comfortable losing without any major repercussions. Please call 1-800-GAMBLER if you have a gambling problem.
