Crystal Palace vs Everton Match Preview: Previous Meeting, Key Men, Team News & More

Crystal Palace entertain Everton on Saturday as both underachievers look to climb the Premier League table.

The Eagles will hope to make it three home games without defeat at Selhurst Park, while the managerless Toffees will look to earn their first league away win for 10 months.

Here's all you need to knnow ahead of the contest:

Previous Meeting

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Ironically the last time that the Blues won on the road in the league was at Palace's ground back in January.

Seamus Coleman's late strike was enough to secure a much needed three points for Ronald Koeman's men and sparked jubilant scenes in the away section of the stadium.

Palace felt aggrieved in the build-up to that goal after Jeffrey Schlupp was injured down the opposite end of the pitch, but referee Anthony Taylor waved play on with the full-back off the field - a decision which led to Everton's matchwinning goal.

Key Men

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With both sides struggling for goals this term, it will fall to two returning strikers to carry much of the goal threat for Palace and Everton.

The hosts will be relieved to have target man Christian Benteke available again after two months on the treatment table with a knee injury, and he could prove to be a thorn in the Toffees' side once more.

Benteke has bagged five goals in seven appearances against Saturday's visitors during his time in England, and manager Roy Hodgson will hope he can be a matchwinner again come 5pm.

For Everton, interim boss David Unsworth should recall promising forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin to his starting lineup.

The 20-year-old bagged his first league goal of the campaign last time out against Watford and has proven to be one of the highlights of their spluttering season.

Calvert-Lewin's hold up play and channel running will give Palace's defence plenty to ponder, and he'll be crucial in helping set up attacks for the away team.

Team News

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Hodgson is without talented loanee Ruben Loftus-Cheek after he picked up a back injury against Germany last Friday.

Patrick Van Aanholt (hamstring), Connor Wickham (cruciate knee ligament) and Chung Yong-Lee (strain) will also be absent, but Jordan Mutch may return after sustaining a knock in training before the international break.

Unsworth has Tom Davies available after his own slight injury, while Kevin Mirallas and Morgan Schneiderlin come back into contention after their training ground but up saw the pair overlooked two weeks ago.

Cuco Martina is fit after overcoming a bout of concussion, but Ross Barkley, Seamus Coleman, Yannick Bolasie and James McCarthy will miss out again.

Predicted Crystal Palace Starting Lineup: Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Sakho, Schlupp; Townsend, Cabaye, McArthur, Puncheon; Benteke, Zaha.

Predicted Everton Starting Lineup: Pickford; Kenny, Keane, Jagielka, Baines; Gueye, Schneiderlin; Lennon, Rooney, Sigurdsson; Calvert-Lewin.

Prediction

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Palace have failed to beat Everton on home soil since October 1994 and, with the bottom side taking on a buoyed Blues outfit, could find themselves up against it.

The home crowd will certainly be up for the fight, however and, with the possibility of leaping off the bottom of the league, Hodgson will be instructing his players to end that dismal run.

Unsworth will be desperate to make it two successive league wins to give his chances of becoming Everton's next permanent manager a boost, but we can't see anything less than a draw being played out.

Predicted score: Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton