David Moyes will be forced to cope without a top Everton star for their trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday as the Toffees look to salvage Europe.
David Moyes dreaming of Europe with Everton
Moyes has waited a long time for this.
Everton manager David Moyes celebrates after the match
The possibility of European football with Everton — a club he has managed for a total of 12 years across two separate spells — has been a recurring ambition throughout his time at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
With three games left to play and the gap to the top seven still bridgeable in theory, that dream has not quite died, and Moyes is not pretending otherwise.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of Sunday's trip to Selhurst Park, the Everton manager was asked about Crystal Palace's remarkable Conference League run and what watching other clubs enjoy European success does to him.
His answer was candid and heartfelt.
"I got a chance to do it with West Ham and it was amazing for everyone at the club," he said.
"It's very hard to put in words what it feels like. I've been sort of dreaming over the year that I can get it for the Everton supporters — that would be what I really want to do."
The reference to West Ham is significant.
Moyes led the Hammers to Conference League glory in 2023, beating Fiorentina in the final in Prague — the defining moment of his tenure in east London and one of the finest achievements of his long managerial career.
Moyes-Rice-West-Ham
Replicating that on Merseyside is the ambition driving him now, and it lends Sunday's fixture a weight that pure league position alone cannot convey.
Everton sit 11th in the Premier League on 48 points with three games remaining, needing results to go their way across the final weeks of the campaign and wins of their own to have any chance.
They have not qualified for European football since 2017 — a near-decade of absence that underlines just how much this would mean to the fanbase.
What is working against them is a run of form that has been deeply frustrating in recent weeks.
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Everton have become the first team in Premier League history to concede a result-altering goal in the 90th minute or later in three consecutive matches — a devastating statistic that has cost them crucial points against Liverpool, West Ham and Man City.
The City draw on Monday, in which they led 3-1 only to be pegged back to 3-3 by Jeremy Doku's stoppage-time curler, encapsulated everything that has gone wrong at the death.
Jeremy-Doku-Man-City
They have taken just two points from their last four league games, and the squad selection for Sunday carries added complication.
David Moyes without Idrissa Gueye for Crystal Palace trip
Moyes confirmed on Friday that Idrissa Gueye will not be available for the trip to Selhurst Park.
Idrissa-Gueye
The 36-year-old picked up a knock in training recently, and while Moyes says it isn't serious, Gueye won't be available to play Palace.
Gueye has made 25 Premier League appearances this season and has been a consistent presence in Everton's midfield alongside James Garner throughout the campaign.
Jack Grealish and Jarrad Branthwaite both remain sidelined for the season, though Moyes offered a slightly more encouraging update on the loanee City winger's foot complaint.
The positive news is that Tim Iroegbunam and Merlin Rohl both gave Moyes a selection dilemma in the right way against City, with the pair performing admirably in the absence of Gueye.
gueye-everton-fulham
Thierno Barry scored twice from the bench against City, adding further complexity to Moyes' forward selection alongside the consistently available Beto.
Palace will likely rotate heavily with one eye on the Conference League final, and Everton know that a fatigued, changed home side represents perhaps their clearest chance at a result in the run-in.
Whether they can take it without the 'ridiculous' Gueye pulling the strings in midfield is the central question heading into Sunday afternoon.
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