Everton vs Crystal Palace: Preview, Predicted Lineups and Where to Watch

People may look twice at that, but I'm telling you one thing now, Michael Keane is without a shadow of a doubt our best finisher and I state that in terms of both on the deck and in the air.

Why can't Keane play there?

Dion Dublin and Chris Sutton were both good strikers that often at times in their careers were deployed at centre half and did a more than able job.

If Moyes persists with the same formation again I think it's asking for more of them same, pedestrian movement and no threat up front.

Try something radical, I don't care if its not a good look dropping strikers, just play a team that benefits us.

Preferably till after the January window when we can sign someone remotely resembling a striker.

Yes, he's a very good finisher but would he have the mobility, stamina and speed to go tearing around up front for a full 90 minutes? I just can't see it.

Throw him up front with 20 minutes to go, maybe.

What I will say is we can't keep playing carousel with Beto and Barry and neither of them making a difference with going throughout most games not getting a shot off or header at goal.

I have heard people say commit the next 10 games to Barry now, which is fair enough because Beto looks completely exposed now.

But if Barry plays the next 10 and still doesn't look any further along, then surely we've got to try something different.

I'd like to see both Alcaraz and Dibling come in with Ndiaye playing up top.

No starting spot for Beto or Barry.

‘Would he have the mobility, stamina and speed?'

In all fairness, Ray, I haven't seen Beto succeed in any of these this season, and Keane is better in the air, and definitely a better first touch.

Jim has a point, but can't see Moyes making that kind of decision. Alcaraz has played Number 9 previously, could play him upfront, Dibling on the right, and Ndiaye as Number 10, and forget about the aerial route.

There's no point in buying players that size and not giving them plenty crosses into the box.

Personally, I'm in the camp that says unless Moyes is open to alternative solutions, it really is time to give Barry a decent run in the side, the same as has been afforded to Beto this season. I think we've seen enough of that.

It's not impossible he will do this but he still talks about Beto's value last season and, being the man he is, he may prefer to bet on a miracle resurgence, rather than a punt on what is still an unknown value in Barry.

The case for Barry is that, while he has no goals or even shots on goal this season, that is not surprising given he mostly gets 20 minutes at the end, and he did actually start in maybe our best performance this season against Brighton and actually looked slightly promising.

Definition of madness and all that.

You are correct in stating they would not be that nimble on their feet. But you would think they could head a ball.

Beto has scored with his head, but Barry is, well, useless with his head.

A big striker doesn't have to have nimble feet, but you'd expect him to have a first touch, not hit off his boot and land 3 ft away, which Beto does.

Branthwaite and Röhl out until at least after the International break, Röhl supposed to be a minor injury 3 weeks ago.

Moyes needs to develop some testicles and throw away the shackles of his historic and predictable eunuch tendancies.

Most Blues l know would have Ndiaye as a false 9... but hey, what do we know?

Why Big Dunc or Rooney aren't at the club to help the strikers is a mystery.

Some may disagree. That's my personal opinion.

I'm not disputing how poor Beto and Barry have been. I just don't think Keane up front for 90 minutes would fare any better.

We'd lose his defensive abilities and, besides, playing at the back, he can still score from a set piece.

I personally cannot see him chasing down for 90 minutes, running onto through balls etc. I'd rather have Alcaraz and possibly Ndiaye starting up top.

I know that we are at home but I would pack the midfield and play on the break and use Ndiaye as a roaming player.

He's played a key part in two goals, and started just the one Premier League game.

Have there been hints from Finch Farm that that may be an actual option?

Personally I'd be amazed, and a little disappointed, if we reverted to playing a centre-back up top... like a throwback to Mike Lyons.

I know there's not a hope in hell of Keane playing upfront, I think it's just being said in desperation, but didn't Dyche throw him upfront a few times?

This suggestion is madness from someone with no responsibility for the outcome. Putting Keane as centre-forward would mean a huge gap in defence.

What would we have? Coleman or Patterson, Tarkowski O'Brien and Mykolenko. When that line-up concedes a couple of goals, the fanbase would be in uproar for the irresponsible decision.

On the Beto vs Barry debate, from what I have seen to date, I think Beto is a better option. The biggest problem is that he is not getting the supply that most suits him. I don't think Barry has the same impact on the opposing defence and has an impulsive nature, a bit like Moise Kean.

I agree that doing the same thing over and over again is madness. From what I have seen from our games is Plan A which is pass the ball to Grealish, and see if he can get in crosses or win a free or set somebody up for a shot on goal.

Opposition sides have that sussed and double up on Jack, meaning his crosses are too low, or he is forced to play the ball backwards or sideways.

Either way, we eventually are trying to play into a centre forward who does not have great close control in a crowded penalty area because the build-up was so slow and the opposition have loads of time to set up defensively.

When Plan A doesn't work, we still try Plan A. If we moved the ball much quicker from defence to Beto, this at least gives him a chance to score. Refer to most of Beto's goals last season.

Sesko only has 1 in 6 so far.

Look at how hard Nunez, Hojlund and (initially) Cunha found it.

It’s a tough competitive league and we’re one of the poorer squads in it. It will take time

Neil # 19, the madness of doing the same thing over again is probably more applicable to Everton fans who expect top 6 performances at bottom 10 prices.

Bit too radical for Moyes to put Charly Alcaraz up front but, against Palace, I would see that working. He would chase down defenders and is a more accurate finisher and links up play quite well.

I think we've got to persevere with Barry. It's too early to write him off... especially as two of the supporting front three are also new to the team.

Personally, I think Ndiaye is the key.

No running back defending in his own area. He knows where the onion bag is. He is at Rotherham on loan.

What this does highlight is our inability to do our homework with respect to strikers, we're still scratching around looking for diamonds in the rough. Our last decent striker was Lukaku. We've spunked a fortune on a plethora of low to mid range dross since then.

l'd rather go down the road of buying quality and pay more than carry on this cycle of dud deals. Recent history too tells us they're out there: Brighton find decent players at reasonable prices, Bournemouth find decent players...

Further afield, you have clubs like Lille, RB Leipzig and Frankfurt who seem to churn players out too.

I think Barry deserves a lot more patience than mostly half a game starts and even less. You are right: he hasn't shown anything great and might not do so in the future but surely he deserves more time than he's had.

Colin (23),

Martin Sherif scored last night for Rotherham, he's a big strong lad but not sure how long he has left on his Everton contract — is this his last season?

I'm not expecting Top 6 but on wages at least, we are pretty much around the middle at 11th biggest wage bill, some way ahead of the likes of Brentford, Bournemouth, Brighton and even Palace.

https://www.givemesport.com/premier-league-wage-bill/

Anywhere around 10-12th would be okay and in line with what we pay. Top 6 would be a miracle (and won't happen). I tend to think we might end up underperforming our wage position. Hope I'm wrong.

Mind you, those wages might be wrong anyway. Look at Leeds and if Dom skimmed them for £120k a week, I guess good luck to him. Then the next two: Harrison and Bamford. At least our 3 highest are proper Premier League players.

There are going to be relatively few examples of low-cost strikers who made an immediate impact.

Bournemouth bought Kroupi in January and he's a really big talent (much more natural talent than Barry) but it could be more than 2 years before he's ready to lead the line for them. In the meantime, they have Evanilson who cost a fair bit more than Barry -- and before prices went bananas too.

Although we're in 11th place, my recollection is that we're closer to Burnley in 20th than those around 7th or 8th. If I'm wrong, by all means correct me.

Bamford was released by Leeds at the beginning of the season

I believe I am a realist. Namely, there is no point moaning about our strikers because that's all we have. All I want to see is that we use our resources (players) as best we can.

When Moyes came in, he certainly got the best out of the squad Dyche worked with. I am hoping that he can figure out how to get the best out of this squad. I am not a Moyes knocker but am a little disappointed with his performance to date.

I do believe there is a decent team in there... he just has to figure out how to get the best out of them. We can then look to January to improve further.

By 'decent', I mean being competitive in the top half of the table and no longer going through the season trying to figure out if we will be safe. Rome wasn't built in a day and this should be a work in progress but progress is expected. NSNO.

We have always been too hasty to get rid of players before they have had the chance to gain confidence and establish themselves in the team.

Lookman is a prime example. Now one of the hottest properties in Italy.

But even so, 11th is where we are and that would be my benchmark. I've never thought it likely we would be Top 10. I just hope we are near to best of the rest, as we should be.

Bear in mind also that being 11th in Premier League spending means you are one of the biggest spenders in Europe. We pay more than clubs who have won lesser European trophies. It's why I don't quite buy the idea that we are bottom feeders. Not in world or European terms, we are at or near to the top table.

Granted we won't and don't get the cream, they look for Champions League football but we should be getting the best of the rest.

And while I agree buying anyone for £30m or less is not going to buy you certainty, we have tried to mitigate that risk by buying several in that bracket and not one has come off so far.

I'd have hoped we might have got 'lucky' with at least one. At the very least, I'd like to have seen some promise, even if goals are not guaranteed at this stage. The problem is the lack of evident promise.

Given, as I say above, Moyes is unlikely to be lateral, I'm in the camp that thinks Barry merits a proper run out. We've seen Beto and, to be blunt, it's not pretty. We haven't really seen enough of Barry to know if that promise exists or not.

I think we have no choice but to give him a proper try, he's not that young...

Any recent precedent re: postponements due to high winds etc? It's wild outside right now and my weather app says the wind speeds will be almost identical at 2 pm on Sunday.

A win for Palace I'm afraid to say, 1-2, could be more like if we get off to a slow start again!

Breezy on Sunday but I doubt anywhere near enough for a postponement, 20 mph with 35-40 mph gusts.