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Everton vs Crystal Palace

Match Preview

Everton are back at Goodison Park this evening for the first of two vital home games in the space of five days, with improving Crystal Palace the visitors in the Premier League before Swansea City come to town for an FA Cup Fifth Round tie on Sunday.

Having suffered disappointment at White Hart Lane last Sunday with a frustrating 1-0 defeat against Tottenham where they proved unable to turn their dominance of possession into goals, the Blues know they need to bounce back with a victory and hope that results go their way elsewhere — particularly at Craven Cottage where Liverpool take on Fulham, and St James' Park where Newcastle play Spurs — so they can make up some ground in the chase for a top-four finish.

Roberto Martinez rightly pointed out that there is a long way to go before anyone can be ruled out of Champions League contention and he clearly has designs on his team making a charge down the home straight in the final 10 games when he hopes to have Romelu Lukaku and Lacina Traore fully fit. He needs to ensure in the meantime, though, that his team doesn't fall too far behind, which makes tonight's game and the trip to Stamford Bridge in 10 days' time crucial.

Martinez suggested in his pre-match press conference that Traore will be ready enough to play some part against Palace but won't start which will keep the onus for scoring goals on Kevin Mirallas and, if he plays, Steven Naismith. Both players put in decent shifts against Spurs but found clear-cut chances few and far between. Instead, it was Leon Osman who came closest to scoring but it remains to be seen whether he will be handed a second start in four days, particularly given how effective he has been coming off the bench this season.

Another question mark is Ross Barkley who Martinez admitted might have been rushed back too quickly against Aston Villa 10 days ago and only came on with 17 minutes to go last Sunday. His manager may elect to start both him and Gerard Deulofeu on the bench again this evening with an important cup tie looming at the weekend.

Palace were bottom of the Premier League and on an awful sequence of results when the two sides met at Selhurst Park in early November when it felt like Everton just needed to turn up to get the three points. That complacency showed in another frustrating goalless draw, one of those missed opportunities that may come back to haunt the Blues when all is said and done come May.

Since Tony Pulis took over, the Londoners have been a very different proposition, though, and they've since climbed out of the bottom three under his stewardship and also run Chelsea close at Stamford Bridge a few weeks ago in a narrow 2-1 defeat.

For Everton, the danger is that they will meet another well-organised defence that will sit back and dare them to try and break them down but which also possess enough physical threat up front in the likes of Cameron Jerome or technique in the likes of Tom Ince or Yannick Bolasie to cause the Blues problems at the back.

Play with the confidence they showed at Tottenham, though, but add the potency they lacked in that game — perhaps from more game time for Deulofeu or a debut from the intriguing Traore — and the points should be Everton's. The key will be creating and scoring the goals to get the win and it won't matter where they come from.

Kick off: 7.45pm
Referee: Andre Marriner

Full Coverage: ToffeeWeb Match Reports

• Memory Lane — Match 26
• Global TV

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