Everton and Crystal Palace have met in the first Premier League game of the season twice before, with the Eagles unbeaten – they won 2-1 in 1997-98 at Goodison Park, while the sides drew 0-0 in 2019-20 at Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace have won just one of their last 23 Premier League matches against Everton (D10 L12), a 3-1 home win in December 2021. Their last away win at the Toffees was back in 2014-15 under Neil Warnock, a 3-2 victory at Goodison Park (D4 L7 since).
Everton have lost their opening game in each of the last four Premier League seasons – their joint-longest losing run in their first game of a league season. They’ve failed to score in all four defeats and no top-flight side has ever lost their opening game without scoring in five consecutive seasons; QPR did this in non-consecutive seasons, however, between 1994-95 and 2014-15.
Crystal Palace have kept a clean sheet in their opening game in five of their last eight Premier League seasons, including in a 0-0 draw with Chelsea in 2025-26. Palace have lost their last five openers when they’ve conceded, however, since a 3-1 away win at Norwich in 2015-16.
Everton failed to win any of their final seven Premier League games of 2025-26 (D3 L4). They have never gone eight league games without a win under David Moyes, while the Scot himself last went longer without a Premier League win in April 2017 with Sunderland (10 games).
Only Tottenham Hotspur (63%) and Nottingham Forest (55%) earned a higher proportion of their Premier League points in 2025-26 away from home than Crystal Palace (53% – 24/45). However, the Eagles failed to win any of their last four on the road (D1 L3), last going longer without an away league win in November 2024 (6).
Everton had the lowest average possession in the 2025-26 Premier League of any side not to be relegated (43.5%), while Crystal Palace had the third-lowest (45.5%). Indeed, the Toffees had the second-fewest open play passing sequences of 10 of more passes in the division last term overall (274), ahead of only bottom side Wolves (250).
Excluding penalties, no side conceded more set-piece goals than Crystal Palace in the Premier League last season (20). This accounted for 39% of the Eagles’ overall goals conceded (20/51), an outright league-high.
This will be Pierre Sage’s first game in charge of Crystal Palace. The Eagles have had 16 previous managers oversee a Premier League match with the club (incl. caretakers), although just two of those 16 won their first (D4 L10) – Alan Pardew against Tottenham Hotspur in January 2015 (2-1) and Oliver Glasner against Burnley in February 2024 (3-0).
Hayden Hackney could make his Everton debut in this match. In last season’s Championship (incl. play-offs), he ranked seventh for possession won (206), joint-fourth for possession won in the final third (33), second for chances created (85), joint-first for open play chances created (64), second for open play expected assists (7.65), and first for successful passes ending in the final third (855).