Everton begin their 125th top flight season and the second at their new Merseyside home against last year’s Europa Conference League champions Crystal Palace.
The Toffees go into the game cautiously optimistic after some bright moments in pre-season. Their remains frustration however at a failure to address key issues in the transfer marker and the uncertainty over the future of David Moyes as he prepares to enter the final year of his contract.
The late season collapse is also fresh in people’s minds,
with the opportunity of European football thrown away thanks to a winless seven-game run to close out the season.
New signings include last season’s Championship Player of the Year Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough, an energetic number eight who can hopefully add some incisiveness even from the deeper midfield position he’s been deployed at so far. Tyrique George and Merlin Rohl turned their loan stints into permanent deals. Christian Norgaard looks to be a savvy signing from Arsenal to replace Idrissa Gueye, while Brennan Johnson adds pace and dynamism following his Dwight McNeil swap deal with Saturday’s opponents Palace.
The yawning hole in the squad though remains right-back, a position Everton have failed to adequately address for years. That failure had hung over the Toffees’ summer and the overall mood of the fans at the end of the window will like rest on whether they address it.
The supporters are already resigned to begin the season without a new face in that position, with Merlin Rohl or Jake O’Brien likely to deputise once more. Rohl in particular has enjoyed a productive pre-season and would be a solid stop-gap, but a long-term solution is needed.
Moyes curiously remained silent throughout the summer, only speaking publicly to Sky Sports earlier this week where he admitted the club still had a lot to do in the transfer market. Managers are under no obligation to do media during friendlies but it was unusual that he did not even do at least one in-house one.
Is there anything in that? Who knows, though the uncertainty about the future is only going to grow as his contract ticks down.
Angus Kinnear’s lengthy interviews earlier this week reassured the fans as to the ambition and commitment of the owners, but the proof is in the pudding and a poor start to the season coupled with a poor end to the transfer window will only fuel the murmurings of discontent.
The Opposition – Crystal Palace
It is hard not to be happy for Crystal Palace fans in what is a golden period for the club. After winning their first piece of major silverware in the FA Cup in 2025, they followed that up with a first European trophy in the form of the Europa Conference League. It shows what can be achieved when excellent management and savvy recruitment combine, giving hope to Evertonians craving an end to their trophy drought.
There has been a degree of turbulence over the summer thanks to Oliver Glasner’s departure, though his decision to join Nottingham Forest has not gone down well given the recent rivalry between the clubs.
Pierre Sage is his replacement, coming from RC Lens who he guided to Coupe de France success and a second-placed finish in Ligue 1, winning the division’s manager of the year award. He has had to deal with a limited budget as the Eagles have to comply with UEFA’s stricter SCR rules.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oscar Mingueza arrived on frees, while Dwight McNeil was recruited in that swap deal with Brennan Johnson. In the past week they have brought in winger Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake and full-back Anana Khalaili from Union Saint-Gilloise. Axel Disasi is also set to join on loan from Chelsea.
Khalaili’s arrival put Daniel Munoz’s future in doubt amid links with Everton, though speculation suggests the £18-20m fee is prohibitive given his age. History is certainly not on Palace’s side as they head to Hill Dickinson Stadium. They have won just one of their last 23 visits to Everton, a 3-2 victory in 2014.
Everton meanwhile are hoping to halt a run of four successive opening day defeats without even scoring, as well as chasing a first win in eight games stretching back to last season.
Previous Meeting
Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton, 10 May 2026
Everton twice tossed away the lead as their late season slump continued with an entertaining 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park, just three days after Palace played in a Conference League semi-final.
James Tarkowski put the Toffees ahead after six minutes but Ismalia Sarr levelled 10 minutes before half-time.
A fine individual goal from Beto shortly after the restart put Everton back in front, but Jean-Phillipe Mateta scrambled home a second equaliser with seven minutes left.
Both sides had opportunities to win it, with Iliman Ndiaye spurning a fine chance late on.
It was telling that Oliver Glasner commented it was Everton who looked like they had played three days ago, summing up the Toffees’ lacklustre end to the season.
Team News
David Moyes has confirmed Christian Nørgaard and Tim Iroegbunam are both out of Saturday’s Premier League opener against Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium – with fellow midfielder James Garner also a doubt.
What Moyes said
Speaking about the neverending search for a starting right back, Moyes said –
“We have identified a few right-backs who we like, we have bid for a few. We are right in there. We have got Jake O’Brien, Merlin Röhl did well in pre-season, Jimmy Garner was excellent there. We are certainly short on numbers, and have room to get a right-back.
“We are trying to do the right thing. We are looking at levels of players and trying to see if they are better than what we have in the building.”
Final word
A rare Saturday 3pm kick-off to open the season should ensure a raucous atmosphere as Everton look to get the season off to a good start. There has been obvious frustration at the failure to plug some gaps in the side, but there have been some canny additions, while some young players – notably Merlin Rohl, Thierno Barry, Tyler Dibling and Adam Aznou – have enjoyed good pre-seasons. This is an excellent opportunity to secure a first opening day victory since 2021.
