Cyrstal Palace travel north to take on an Everton side who have struggled at home this season, and Jake Pearson thinks Carlo Ancelotti's Goodison woes may continue.
Premier League betting tips: Everton v Crystal Palace
- 1pt Crystal Palace to win at 17/4 (BetVictor)
Carlo Ancelotti and his Everton side will likely have breathed a sigh of relief when the international break came around, having lost their two previous Premier League matches – against Chelsea and Burnley – as well as being knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City.
To be fair to the Toffees, they did manage to withstand a barrage of Manchester City pressure for 83 minutes in that match, with late goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne earning the win for the Citizens, but it still means that when Everton face Crystal Palace on Monday, they will have gone over a month without winning a football match.
Everton’s season has certainly been one of ups and downs, the fact that they lost 2-0 to Fulham before beating bitter rivals Liverpool by the same scorline within a six-day period earlier in the year is testament to just that.
It is this sort of inconsistency that has left them on the outside looking in in terms of the race for Europe, starting the weekend five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, though only two points behind sixth-placed Tottenham, and with a game in hand.
Everton are still in with a chance of cementing European football for next season, but they will need to drastically improve their home form if they are to do so.
Away from Goodison Park, Everton have performed incredibly well this season, winning nine of their 14 matches on the road, the fourth best away record in the league, but their home form has been disappointing to say the least.
Everton’s points tally of 17 from their 14 home games this season leaves them with the sixth worst home record in the Premier League, winning just five matches, losing seven, and this is an angle worth exploring in this fixture.
Unlike Everton, Crystal Palace went into the international break with their tails up, having beaten West Brom 1-0 at Selhurst Park.
That ended a run of three games without a win for the Eagles, but a return of four points from matches against Manchester United, Tottenham and West Brom is hardly shabby, particularly considering Palace were without Wilfried Zaha for two of those fixtures.
Zaha should be back to full fitness for this match, and the importance of Palace’s top scorer to the team really cannot be overstated.
Only Newcastle, Sheffield United and West Brom have lower possession stats than Crystal Palace when away from home this season, and the pattern of this match seems straightforward to predict, with Everton expected to dominate the ball and take the game to Roy Hodgson’s side.
Fortunately for Palace, this will suit them down to the ground, as the more men Everton throw forward in search of a breakthrough goal, the more space they leave in behind for the likes of Zaha and Eberechi Eze to exploit.
An early goal for the Toffees would completely change the complexion of the match, but the longer the game stays 0-0, the bigger the chance of a Crystal Palace win.
Everton have won just one game at home since their victory over Arsenal before Christmas, which makes their odds-on price too short, and in turn means a price of 17/4 for a CRYSTAL PALACE WIN makes plenty of appeal.
Everton v Crystal Palace best bets and score prediction
- Crystal Palace to win at 17/4 (BetVictor)
Score prediction: Everton 0-1 Crystal Palace (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Odds correct 1230 BST (01/04/21)
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