When Crystal Palace step out at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday afternoon (15:00 BST), they won’t just be ushering in a new tactical era under Pierre Sage. They will be walking straight into a psychological pressure that David Moyes and Everton are desperately trying to contain.
On paper, the historical omen looks formidable for the visiting South Londoners. Palace have managed a solitary victory in their last 23 Premier League encounters against Everton, losing 12 and drawing 10. It is the kind of lopsided metric that usually brings a shudder to travelling supporters making the trip north.
Yet beneath the surface of that historical record lies a far more immediate reality: Everton are on the brink of an unwanted piece of history, and Palace are primed to exploit it.
Moyes’ unwanted record and Everton’s fragility
Palace opposition Everton enter the 2026/27 campaign trailing a dark cloud from the end of last season. A wretched seven-game winless run to close out 2025/26 transformed a promising campaign into a total collapse, costing the club European football and earning a stern rebuke from owners The Friedkin Group.
Should Moyes fail to collect three points on Saturday, it will stretch Everton’s winless league run to eight matches a mark the Scot has never reached across both of his managerial spells at Goodison Park and their new waterfront home.
Pre-season form offers little insulation when competitive points are on the line. While youngsters like Merlin Rohl, Harrison Armstrong, and Tyrique George showed promise during the summer break, underlying frustration remains rife among the Everton faithful. The board’s failure to secure a high-calibre right-back during the summer window has left a glaring vulnerability one that Sage’s wide players will be eager to test from the opening whistle.
If Palace can hold firm during the opening 20 minutes and quiet the home crowd, the pressure on Moyes will multiply rapidly.
The tactical shift: what Moyes is expecting
Addressing the media ahead of the curtain-raiser vs the Eagles, Moyes made no secret of the fact that he has spent time dissecting Sage’s previous work in France. Rather than expecting an entirely alien setup, the Everton boss anticipates a refined evolution of the system deployed by former Palace manager Oliver Glasner.
“From what we’ve seen so far, their manager did a brilliant job at Lens,” Moyes said. “He played a very similar system to Oliver Glasner.
“Obviously, I think they’ve tweaked a few things, but they are very similar and I think that’s why he was an attraction to bring to Crystal Palace.”
Sage’s arrival brings fresh energy to an Eagles squad that needed a tactical reset. His emphasis on aggressive, high-value pressing in transition aligns neatly with the physical baseline Glasner established, but with subtler structural variations designed to carve open stubborn low blocks.
Moyes was quick to offer a word of caution regarding the reality of adapting to the English top flight.
“I think we’ve got a lot of new managers come in,” Moyes noted. “But I’ve seen lots and lots down the years, some brilliant managers, but it’s a difficult league to work in.
“Some do a great job and some will find it really different. Good luck to all of them, just not when it’s against Everton.”
Old friends and sub-plots
The opening weekend rarely lacks narrative, and Saturday’s encounter brings an immediate reunion. Brennan Johnson’s summer departure from SE25 adds a layer of intrigue, alongside Dwight McNeil’s familiar presence in Everton’s lineup.
Moyes was questioned on whether facing former employers generates extra incentive, though he chose to downplay the emotional stakes.
“I don’t know if that’s Brennan’s thinking, but it could be the same for Dwight [McNeil],” Moyes admitted. “But we don’t know that.
“Obviously, it’s never an easy thing playing against your old club as quickly as it is. I think they’ll both be glad to get this game out the way and they can move on after this way.”
For Crystal Palace, the narrative surrounding their poor head-to-head record against Everton belongs to past squads and previous regimes.
Sage arrives on Merseyside unburdened by past failures at Goodison Park or the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Facing an opponent burdened by a prolonged winless streak, carrying clear recruitment gaps on the right flank, and playing under an increasingly restless home support presents Palace with their best opportunity in years to claim maximum points on Merseyside.
If Sage’s structural tweaks land as intended, Saturday won’t just mark the start of a new era for Palace it will be the day they finally rewrite the script against Everton.
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