Crystal Palace begin the 2026/27 Premier League season with a difficult trip to Everton on Saturday afternoon in Pierre Sage’s first competitive game in charge.

The Eagles arrive at the Hill Dickinson Stadium looking to build on their historic Conference League win, a continental breakthrough that has raised expectations around Selhurst Park and sharpened scrutiny on how the club manages the extra workload of domestic and European commitments.

Unfortunately for Palace, they face an Everton side they have struggled badly against in recent years, setting the stage for a match that carries early-season significance for both clubs’ trajectories.

New era for Palace, renewed pressure on Everton

Sage has big shoes to fill following Oliver Glasner’s departure. The French coach arrives in England on the back of an outstanding campaign with Lens last season, winning the Coupe de France and finishing second in Ligue 1. That record underlines why Palace have turned to him at a moment when the club is trying to transition from survival mode to stable top-half contender.

However, his first Premier League assignment comes against an opponent Palace have consistently struggled to overcome. The league’s format – 38 games, three points for a win – means the opening weekend cannot define a season, but for a new manager it can heavily influence narrative, dressing-room confidence and early boardroom judgment.

Sage has made it clear that ambition will be central to his approach, with Palace travelling to Merseyside looking to win rather than simply contain. That stance matters in the context of a club that has often been associated with pragmatism and risk management in the top flight.

Palace will need to adjust quickly. They have not won their opening Premier League fixture since the 2023/24 season, and only two of the club’s previous 16 permanent managers have won their league debut. The historical pattern underlines how rarely Palace start smoothly, and how a positive result here would immediately differentiate Sage from many of his predecessors.

There is evidence to justify a more assertive outlook. The Eagles were one of the Premier League’s strongest away sides last season, collecting 24 of their 45 points on the road. That travel resilience will be central again this year, particularly with European group-stage fixtures compressing the calendar and putting a premium on game-to-game squad management.

Meanwhile, Everton need to improve at home after a disappointing first campaign at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Toffees were in European contention for much of last season before a seven-game winless run to finish the campaign saw their hopes dissipate, raising questions over depth, durability and the ability to close out a campaign under physical and mental strain.

David Moyes will also be desperate to avoid another unwanted record. Everton have lost their opening league game in each of their last four seasons without scoring. Given the financial and strategic importance of Premier League status, an extension of that run would immediately revive discussions about the club’s direction, on and off the pitch.

Historical trends shape tactical risk for both sides

Palace must overcome a dreadful recent record against Everton. The Eagles have won just one of their last 23 Premier League meetings with the Toffees, drawing 10 and losing 12, while Everton have gone 11 games unbeaten against Palace across all competitions. Palace have not won away against Everton since the 2014/15 campaign.

Those numbers do more than provide historical colour. They influence risk tolerance and selection on both benches: Everton can lean on a psychological edge when the game becomes tight, while Palace must consciously break from patterns that have often seen them cede control or concede at key moments.

There is an obvious weakness Sage must address quickly. Palace conceded 20 set-piece goals in the Premier League last season, the joint-highest total in the division. Those goals accounted for 39% of their overall league goals conceded, the highest proportion of any team, highlighting both a structural vulnerability and a potential identity shift required on the training ground.

In a league where set pieces are a central part of game-planning – and where marginal gains often separate mid-table positions that carry very different prize money and European qualification scenarios – reducing that exposure will be essential if Palace are to convert their away-day resilience into a sustained push up the table.

Everton are hardly in perfect shape themselves. They failed to win any of their final seven league games last season and have never gone eight Premier League matches without a victory under Moyes. That context turns this opener into more than a routine fixture: it is a test of whether the current project can re-establish momentum before early-season pressure spills over into broader conversations about recruitment and coaching.

Crystal Palace team news and selection calls

Dean Henderson is a doubt after twisting his ankle in Palace’s final pre-season friendly against Freiburg. That potential absence at the start of a long campaign raises early questions over how Sage balances continuity in goal with the need to integrate new signings across the back line.

‘Serial winner’ Walter Benitez is therefore ready to make his competitive debut if the England international fails to recover in time. His track record of success elsewhere adds experience to a squad that will need composure in high-stakes moments both domestically and in Europe.

Daniel Munoz could also begin on the bench after playing just 18 minutes of pre-season following his involvement at the 2026 World Cup. That should allow new signing Oscar Mingueza to start at right wing-back, giving Sage an early look at how the former Barcelona defender adapts to the physical and positional demands of the Premier League.

Jean-Philippe Mateta has not played since the World Cup, making Jorgen Strand Larsen the likely option to lead the attack. For Strand Larsen, the opening fixture offers a platform to establish himself as the reference point in Sage’s 3-4-2-1 structure at a time when striking roles are often reassessed around fixture congestion and rotation.

Ismaila Sarr, who finished last season as Palace’s top scorer with 21 goals, is expected to start despite recent speculation over his future. Keeping Sarr central to the plan is crucial: his output underpins Palace’s attacking threat and any change in his situation during the season would have major implications for the club’s competitive ceiling.

Matheus Franca has also impressed Sage during pre-season, scoring four goals, but the Brazilian may have to settle for a place among the substitutes. In a season where squad depth will be tested by domestic and European schedules, his development and integration across multiple competitions will be closely watched by both the sporting department and potential suitors.

Crystal Palace predicted XI (3-4-2-1)

Walter Benitez; Maxence Lacroix, Chris Richards, Chadi Riad; Oscar Mingueza, Daichi Kamada, Adam Wharton, Tyrick Mitchell; Yeremy Pino, Ismaila Sarr; Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Early-season stakes for two ambitious projects

The fixture comes at a point where both clubs are trying to solidify medium-term plans under the financial and regulatory framework that governs clubs in England’s top flight. For Palace, consolidating a place in the upper half of the table while navigating a European campaign would strengthen the argument for further investment in a young core.

For Everton, stabilising home form at Hill Dickinson Stadium and reversing the pattern of slow league starts would ease scrutiny around the Moyes project and help underpin future decision-making in areas such as recruitment and contract planning.

Within that context, the opening weekend at Hill Dickinson is more than a curtain-raiser. It is an early test of whether Crystal Palace can translate their recent continental step forward into sustained domestic improvement, and whether Everton can convert historical dominance in this fixture into the kind of sustained form that supports their wider ambitions.