Everton to host Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Matchweek 1 of Premier League 2026-27
Everton will host Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Merseyside, United Kingdom, on Sunday, 22 August in Matchweek 1 of the Premier League 2026-27, in a fixture previewed ahead of the opening weekend.
Everton finished 13th in the Premier League last season and have added Brennan Johnson (from Crystal Palace), Christian Norgaard (from Arsenal) and Merlin Rohl (from Freiburg) to their squad; they recorded pre-season wins against Newcastle and Hamburger SV. The side is managed by David Moyes, who has previously been in charge at West Ham, Sunderland and Manchester United, and the preview noted Moyes will be keen to start the season optimistically with a win over Crystal Palace.
Crystal Palace arrive as the reigning Conference League champions but finished two places above the relegation zone in domestic competition last season. Oliver Glasner has left the club and Pierre Sage — who led Lens and Lyon — has taken over as manager; Palace have signed Zavier Gozo from Salt Lake and Evann Guessand from Villa, and the preview described the London club as a retooled unit under a new gaffer.
Recent form given in the preview lists Everton (in all competitions) as D-W-W-W-L and Crystal Palace as L-L-W-W-L. The article includes a profile of a 26-year-old French-born Senegalese winger who joined Everton in 2024 after spells with Sheffield United and Marseille; he scored once and provided two assists for Senegal at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and will be expected to challenge young Jaydee Canvot on the flank while creating chances for Thierno Barry.
The preview identifies Jørgen Strand Larsen as Crystal Palace’s Norwegian striker from Fredrikstad who has played for Wolves, Celta Vigo and Groningen before joining Palace in 2025; he was part of Norway’s squad at the FIFA World Cup 2026 that reached the quarterfinals after defeating Brazil in the Round of 16 and is described as a towering, highly mobile and clinical target centre-forward who will face an Everton defence led by English defenders James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite.
Team news in the preview lists Christian Nørgaard as having suffered a muscle injury but may be fit to play, while Garner and Tim Iroegbunam are set to miss the next game due to injury concerns; for Crystal Palace, new signing Zavier Gozo is set to miss the next game due to a hip injury.
Projected starting lineups provided in the preview are: Everton — Jordan Pickford (GK); Jake O’Brien, James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite, Vitaliy Mykolenko; Hayden Hackney, Christian Nørgaard; Merlin Röhl, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Iliman Ndiaye; Thierno Barry. Crystal Palace — Dean Henderson (GK); Jaydee Canvot, Chris Richards, Chadi Riad; Daniel Muñoz, Daichi Kamada, Adam Wharton, Tyrick Mitchell; Ismaïla Sarr, Eddie Nketiah; Jørgen Strand Larsen.
The preview terms the fixture difficult to predict and gives a forecast of Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace. The match will be played at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Brentford, UK, on Sunday, 22 August, at 7:30 p.m. IST and can be streamed on JioStar in India and on Sky Sports in the UK.
