Having tried and failed miserably to confirm their Premier League safety at the weekend, Everton‘s final home game of the season takes place on Thursday evening, with Crystal Palace making the journey to Goodison Park.
Frank Lampard‘s side fell to pieces in a 3-2 loss to Brentford on Sunday, while the Eagles were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa.
A four-game unbeaten run on home soil came to an abrupt end for Everton against Thomas Frank‘s side, but they are now 90 minutes away from salvaging their top-flight status, and defeat to Brentford represents just a second loss in seven for Lampard’s men.
Furthermore, not since January 2015 have the Merseyside outfit lost a Premier League game on a Thursday – winning three and drawing four since – and Palace travel to Goodison Park with far less on the line than their survival-scrapping hosts.
On the back of being nominated for the Premier League’s Manager of the Season award, Patrick Vieira extended his side’s unbeaten run in the top flight to four matches at Villa Park.
13th-placed Palace are enjoying a simple stroll to the finish line, but while it is still mathematically possible for Vieira’s men to push for a top-half finish, the Frenchman will not allow his side to put their feet up just yet.
Palace are the Premier League’s stalemate specialists with a whopping 15 draws already this season, and it would not be a surprise to see a similarly tight contest on the Goodison turf.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
