Everton go into Everton vs Crystal Palace with more than home advantage on their side. Crystal Palace have won just 1 of their last 23 Premier League meetings with Everton, while David Moyes is also dealing with pressing injury concerns. The opener at the Hill Dickinson Stadium gives Everton a chance to lean on history, even before the teams settle into the game itself.
Everton's record in the opener
The league table does not point to a gulf between these sides, but the recent meeting history does. Everton finished 13th in 2025, Crystal Palace ended 15th, and Palace's away record suggests they are not simply travelling to make up the numbers. They collected 53% of their Premier League points away from home last season.
The sharper edge for Everton comes from Palace's managerial transition. Fourteen of 16 previous Crystal Palace managers failed to win their opening Premier League game, with only Alan Pardew and Oliver Glasner managing victories. Palace can point to enough away form to stay competitive, but this is still a difficult first fixture for Pierre Sage.
Everton's own opening-day trend is a problem, though. They have lost their opening Premier League fixture in each of the last four seasons and failed to score in all four defeats. Their pre-season record was three wins, two draws and two defeats across seven games, which is not a bad platform, but it does not erase the recent pattern.
Hackney and the midfield questions
Hackney's arrival gives Everton a different type of midfield option. Hayden Hackney joined from Middlesbrough for £16.5m, and his Championship numbers explain why Moyes believes he can add more than just control. He created 85 chances, including 64 from open play, and completed 855 successful passes ending in the final third.
Moyes said: "If he brings that level to Everton, the Englishman will become a ceiling raiser for David Moyes’s team." That is the sort of signing that can matter in an opener where James Garner is unavailable for the foreseeable future after groin surgery, while Tim Iroegbunam also adds to the midfield uncertainty after his injury in the Stuttgart friendly.
The defensive side of the team news is less settled at Palace too. Jarrad Branthwaite is one name Everton want available, while Crystal Palace are still being assessed around Dean Henderson, who is described as fit in one report and a doubt after twisting his ankle in another. Up front, the projected Palace and Everton line-ups also differ on the central striker, with one source listing Beto and another Thierno Barry.
Even with those moving parts, Everton have the cleaner case on paper because the core data points line up in their favour. The 1 in 23 head-to-head record, Palace's managerial turnover, and Hackney's arrival all push the same way, and the opener on 22 August should tell us whether that edge survives the first whistle.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
