Crystal Palace's Premier League Opener: Sage's Ambitious Challenge Against Everton

Crystal Palace step into the new Premier League season on Saturday with a fresh face in the dugout, a European trophy in the cabinet, and a familiar problem in front of them: Everton.

Pierre Sage’s first competitive match in charge sends Palace to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, where optimism collides with a brutal recent history.

Sage’s bold start

Sage replaces Oliver Glasner with a serious reputation to protect. The Frenchman arrives off the back of a superb season with Lens, lifting the Coupe de France and finishing second in Ligue 1. He has been hired to keep Palace pushing upwards, not to quietly maintain.

His first task could hardly be more awkward.

Palace have not enjoyed this fixture. Not recently, not at all. One win in their last 23 Premier League meetings with Everton, 10 draws, 12 defeats. No away victory against the Toffees since the 2014/15 campaign. Eleven games unbeaten for Everton in all competitions against the Eagles.

Sage knows all that. He has made it clear he will not tiptoe into Merseyside. Ambition, he insists, will define his Palace. They are going there to win.

They will need to break another pattern to do it. Palace 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.

Yet there is a platform. Palace were one of the division’s most effective away sides last term, taking 24 of their 45 points on the road. This team knows how to travel.

Everton’s own anxieties

Everton, though, have their own scars to hide.

Their first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium never quite caught fire. For long stretches they flirted with European qualification, only to unravel with a seven-game winless run at the end of the campaign that wiped away those hopes.

David Moyes enters this opener under pressure to change the mood. Everton have lost their first league game in each of the last four seasons and have not scored a single goal in any of those defeats. One more loss here and that statistic becomes an indictment, not just an irritation.

They also ended last season without a win in seven league matches. Under Moyes, Everton have never gone eight Premier League games without victory. That line is now in sight.

So both sides walk out carrying weight: Palace with their Everton problem, Everton with their opening-day curse.

Palace’s set-piece headache

Sage inherits a glaring flaw that cannot be ignored.

Palace conceded 20 goals from set pieces in the Premier League last season, the joint-highest figure in the competition. Those goals made up 39% of their total league goals conceded, the highest proportion of any side.

Against a Moyes team, that is a red flag. Everton will not need a second invitation to load the box and test Palace’s organisation.

If Sage wants to stamp his identity quickly, tightening that area is non-negotiable.

Team news: new faces and tight calls

The new era may begin with a new goalkeeper.

Dean Henderson is a doubt after twisting his ankle in Palace’s final pre-season friendly against Freiburg. If he does not make it, “serial winner” Walter Benitez is ready to step in for his competitive debut.

On the right flank, Daniel Munoz is short of minutes. After featuring at the 2026 World Cup, he has played just 18 minutes of pre-season, which likely opens the door for new signing Oscar Mingueza to start at right wing-back.

Up front, there is another fitness question. Jean-Philippe Mateta has not played since the World Cup, so Jorgen Strand Larsen is in line to lead the attack.

Ismaila Sarr, last season’s top scorer with 21 goals, is expected to start despite ongoing speculation about his future. His pace and direct running remain central to Palace’s threat.

Behind the main forwards, Matheus Franca has caught Sage’s eye in pre-season with four goals, but the Brazilian may still have to wait for his chance from the bench.

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

Sage walks into a stadium where Palace rarely leave happy, against a manager desperate to avoid an unwanted record, with his own bold ideas under early scrutiny. Something has to give.