This weekend marks the final round of fixtures before the international break, with Everton welcoming Crystal Palace to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.
David Moyes’s side will be desperate to halt their recent slide in form and head into the break on a positive note. Their task, however, could not be tougher. Palace arrive on Merseyside in blistering form, unbeaten in their last 19 matches – a run that includes lifting the FA Cup and climbing steadily up the league table.
For Everton, the contrast could hardly be starker. After a promising start to the campaign, recent weeks have brought frustration. A disappointing Carabao Cup exit followed by a draw against West Ham has seen momentum stall, raising questions over their ability to sustain a challenge for that European position that their opponents are currently enjoying.
Turning back to the task at hand, Everton will need to make a crucial adjustment to their defensive setup on Sunday if they are to nullify Crystal Palace’s primary attacking threat.
Crystal Palace are not a side that rely on slow, methodical build-up or patient side-to-side passing before finding an opening. Instead, their attacking threat comes from breaking the press with incisive passes through the lines, often initiated by Adam Wharton or their centre-backs, or by shifting play quickly to their wing-backs, who push high and wide to stretch the pitch.
The focal point of Palace’s system lies in the two attacking midfielders operating behind Jean-Philippe Mateta. The striker plays a pivotal role by pinning centre-backs in place, creating the space needed for Palace’s creators to thrive.
Against Liverpool last weekend, Ismaïla Sarr and Yeremy Pino filled those attacking midfield roles, and both are expected to start again on Sunday. Their primary objective is to exploit the channels between full-back and centre-back, either by running onto balls played in behind or by drawing defenders out of position to free up space for the wing-backs to deliver crosses.
For Everton, the defensive blueprint will need to be disciplined and narrow. Jake O’Brien and Vitalii Mykolenko must tuck in tightly to prevent Palace’s midfield runners from exploiting gaps alongside Idrissa Gana Gueye and James Garner. At the same time, Everton’s wingers will be tasked with tracking back to cover Palace’s adventurous wing-backs.
However, leaving one wide man slightly higher up the pitch could give Moyes’s side a valuable outlet on the counter-attack, one of the few ways to disrupt Palace’s rhythm and turn their aggressive positioning against them.
The question now is whether Everton’s usually reliable defence, coupled with David Moyes’s typically well-drilled tactics, can blunt Crystal Palace’s primary threat with the Eagles aiming to extend their remarkable unbeaten run to 20 games