For the first time in what seems like a decade (although it's really only been four years), Everton have started the Premier League campaign on relatively good terms.
It's early, but they don't appear to be a side that will be anywhere near the relegation zone throughout the season, as they seem to have improved enough to stay comfortably mid-table, even if European qualification is a bit of a pipe dream.
Everton's opponents, on the other hand, have been on an absolutely stunning run over the last few seasons. They won the FA Cup over Manchester City last year, launching them into the Europa League despite a 12th-place finish in the league, just one spot ahead of Everton.
On top of that, they come into Sunday's match on an unprecedented run for the club, having gone unbeaten in 19 matches dating back to April, when they lost successive matches to Manchester City and Newcastle by a combined score of 10-2 over a four day period.
Before that, they were on a run of eight unbeaten, which started after a 2-1 loss to Everton at Selhurst Park. All told, since that February 15 defeat, they've lost just the two matches in 29 tries, only nine of which were draws.
The run has come mostly on the strength of a superb defense, led by center back Marc Guehi, and an attacking unit that does enough to secure wins on a regular basis. It will a tough task for an Everton side that, after three multi-goal games to begin the season, haven't scored more than a single goal in a match over the last four.
Match Notes
Everton have actually dominated this fixture going back to 2013, with the two sides meeting 37 times during that span. The Toffees have won twelve and drawn eleven, with Palace managing just four wins in 12 years.
The Eagles' last win over Everton was a 4-0 thrashing at Selhurst Park in the FA Cup on March 20, 2022. Frank Lampard and Patrick Vieira were the managers that day.
Everton continue to be without center back Jarrad Branthwaite and midfielder Merlin Röhl, with manager David Moyes saying in his pre-match press conference that both players are "making progress and, with a little bit of luck, we'll start to get them on the grass. We've not got them on the grass yet in training, so that's where we're at."
For Palace, they'll be without midfielder Cheick Doucoure (knee), center back Chadi Riad (knee), and right back Caleb Kporha (back), while midfielder Will Hughes will be a matchday decision.
How to Watch
In the UK, the match will kick off at 2 PM local time on Sunday afternoon, with Sky Sports handling the broadcast.
In the US, the kickoff times are 9 AM ET/8 AM CT/6 AM PT, with the match streaming on Peacock.