Moyes Returns as Everton Host Crystal Palace in Premier League Opener
David Moyes walks back into a Premier League dugout on Saturday with a familiar badge on his chest and a very modern problem in front of him. Everton open their 2026/27 campaign at Hill Dickinson Stadium against a Crystal Palace side that has quietly retooled and loudly refused to be pushed around in the transfer market.
Kick-off is set for 10:00 a.m. local time on August 22, with the new season starting under sharp scrutiny for both clubs.
Moyes’ second act, Sage’s first step
For Moyes, this is more than a home opener. It is a statement fixture. Everton have spent the summer trying to stabilise, to look like Everton again in front of their own supporters. A solid pre-season — two wins, two defeats and a draw — has not answered every question, but it has given Moyes a base.
Across the technical area, Pierre Sage takes charge of Palace in the Premier League for the first time. The Frenchman arrives with a clear idea of how he wants his team to play and a squad that, crucially, the club have refused to dismantle.
Manchester City tested Palace’s resolve with a move for Adam Wharton. Palace pushed back. Hard. Wharton stays, a central pillar in Sage’s midfield and a symbol of the club’s ambition to build, not sell.
Palace are also closing in on Axel Disasi from Chelsea on a season-long loan, a move designed to tighten a back line that will be asked to stay compact and disciplined from the opening whistle on Merseyside.
Everton’s own window has carried a different kind of noise. The club remain in talks over a potential deal for Jack Grealish, with chief executive Angus Kinnear confirming contact with Manchester City over the winger. Whether that saga resolves before the deadline is another matter, but Moyes begins the season with a largely settled core.
Projected XIs: structure and absences
Moyes is expected to lean on familiar Premier League steel. Jordan Pickford starts in goal, shielded by a back four of Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski, Vitaliy Mykolenko and Jake O'Brien.
In midfield, Harrison Armstrong, Merlin Roehl and Hayden Hackney are set to form the engine room, with Iliman Ndiaye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall operating close to new striker Thierno Barry. It is a line-up that suggests aggression with the ball and numbers around the centre-forward.
Everton will have to cope without James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam and Christian Noergaard, all ruled out through injury. No suspensions hang over Moyes’ squad.
Sage’s Palace, on paper, look equally structured. Walter Benitez is projected to start in goal, with a back four of Jaydee Canvot, Chadi Riad, Chris Richards and Tyrick Mitchell.
The visitors’ strength lies in the layers ahead of them. Ismaila Sarr, Dwight McNeil, Daichi Kamada, Adam Wharton and Oscar Mingueza are all tipped to feature across midfield and the wide channels, feeding Joergen Strand Larsen as the focal point in attack. Dean Henderson is the only listed injury absentee, leaving Palace otherwise at full strength.
Mixed pre-seasons, real questions
Both teams arrive with pre-season records that tease promise but reveal flaws.
Everton went 2-2-1 across five friendlies. A 3-1 win over Newcastle and a 2-1 victory away to Hamburger SV showed what they can do when the press clicks and the forwards take their chances. A 1-1 draw with Lille in their final outing steadied things, but defeats to VfB Stuttgart (3-1) and Stoke City (1-0) exposed defensive lapses, with six goals conceded across those two games alone.
Palace’s summer told a similar story. They finished 2-1-2, with bright wins over Fulham (2-1) and Al-Ula FC (3-1) suggesting Sage’s ideas are landing. Then came the setbacks: a 3-0 loss to Lens, a goalless draw with Famalicao, and a bruising 3-0 defeat to Freiburg on August 15. Six goals scored, seven conceded. Enough to intrigue, not enough to reassure.
Neither side truly knows yet what they are. That clarity only comes when the points count.
Recent history and the table’s early shape
The rivalry has tilted Everton’s way in recent seasons. The last meeting, at Selhurst Park on May 10, 2026, finished 2-2, but the broader pattern favours the Toffees. Across the last five Premier League clashes, Everton have three wins, Palace none, and two draws. The goal count reads nine for Everton, seven for Palace.
Hill Dickinson Stadium has not been kind to the visitors. Everton have won both of the last two league fixtures there by the same scoreline: 2-1 in September 2024 and 2-1 again in October 2025.
Even before a ball is kicked in anger this season, the table adds a small twist. Palace sit eighth, Everton ninth, a quirk of the fixture list but a reminder that both clubs see themselves in that congested middle ground, desperate to push higher.
How to watch in the United States
For viewers in the United States, the game is available across multiple platforms.
The match will be shown on UNIVERSO and USA Network, with streaming options including Fubo, DirecTV Stream and Sling TV. Kick-off is at 10:00 a.m. local time on August 22.
Fans travelling abroad or trying to access their usual services from another country may run into geo-restrictions. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can help by creating a secure, encrypted connection and virtually switching your location to a region where the broadcast is available. Once connected to an appropriate server and with your browser cache cleared, you can log in to your chosen broadcaster and watch as normal, whether on a laptop, phone or cast onto a bigger screen.
The stakes on opening day
So what does it all add up to?
For Everton, it is a chance to prove that Moyes’ return is about evolution, not nostalgia. For Palace, it is the first real glimpse of Pierre Sage under pressure, with Wharton at the heart of his plans and a reshaped defence behind him.
The head-to-head numbers lean blue. The transfer noise around Selhurst Park suggests a club refusing to be bullied. The first whistle at Hill Dickinson will tell which story carries more weight.
