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The FA Cup returns this week with third-round action and Thursday’s instalment comes from the Premier League with Crystal Palace taking on Everton. League form counts for nothing in the FA Cup, but for the record, the Eagles are five points and three places better off than their opponents. The FA Cup is both Palace and The Toffees best chance of silverware this season.
Crystal Palace crashed out of the FA Cup at this stage last season as they were beaten on home soil against Southampton. The year before they were just 90 minutes from their second FA Cup Final appearance in six seasons, but they were dumped out by Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. The Eagles will be without Jordan Ayew for this game as he will be missing for around a month as he has flown to the Ivory Coast to represent Ghana in the Africa Cup of Nations. Ayew has two goals to his name this season and five assists and his presence will be missed.
The last time Everton picked up any silverware was in the FA Cup when they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the 1995 Final thanks to Paul Rideout’s first-half header. The closest they came to lifting the trophy again was in 2009 when they lost 2-1 to Chelsea despite taking the lead after 25 seconds through Louis Saha. The Blues are desperate to end their trophy drought and they will fancy their chances against Palace. Everton will have their own representative at the Africa Cup of Nations with Idrissa Gana Gueye away with Senegal.
Palace and Everton have already met in the Premier League this season at Selhurst Park. It was a five-goal thriller with the Blues coming out 3-2 winners thanks to a late winner from Gueye. Thankfully for Palace, he won’t be in action on Thursday evening. The last time these two met in the FA Cup was in 2022 with the Eagles hammering the Toffees 4-0 in the quarter-finals to book their place at Wembley. Overall, Everton have won 20 of their 48 matches against Palace, with the London club taking 12 victories. Everton have won three of their last five meetings, with their only defeat coming in this competition.
Everton will remember the last time they met in the FA Cup and will be eager to erase that memory. They also have the recent upper hand over the Eagles with three wins. Palace, on the other hand, have won two and drawn one of their last four clashes against Everton at Selhurst Park. Check out these stats and best betting odds ahead of the game on Thursday.
Our Betting Tip for Today- Everton to win to nil – 7/2 @ Bet365
The bookmakers are finding it very difficult to split these two teams. The home side can be backed at 6/4 to win inside 90 minutes, while Everton are priced at 7/4. The draw can be backed at 12/5.
FA Cup ties between two Premier League teams in the early stages can often be tight affairs, and I expect this one to be the same. The Toffees still feel like everyone is against them following their points deduction in the Premier League. They would love to go on a lengthy cup run in a stand of defiance. Sean Dyche will have his defenders ready for action. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last three league matches, but I am backing that to change with them going into the hat for the next round with a clean sheet.
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