Tyler Dibling and Eric Bocat during the pre-season friendly between Stoke City and Everton at the Bet365 Stadium on 28 July 2026
Tyler Dibling and Eric Bocat during the pre-season friendly between Stoke City and Everton at the Bet365 Stadium on 28 July 2026(Image: Alun Roberts/Pro Sports Images Ltd/SmartFrame)
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Everton kick-off their 2026-27 Premier League campaign today (Saturday) as they welcome Crystal Palace to Hill Dickinson Stadium (3pm kick-off). The Blues will be looking to get off to a winning start as they attempt to improve on last season's 13th-placed finish.
That proved to be disappointing given they were very much in the race for European football until the dispiriting defeats to Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur in the final two games of the campaign.
The reaction to those losses were in sharp contrast to the delirious scenes that followed the last-gasp victory over Palace in last season's corresponding clash.
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So can the Blues get one over the Eagles again? And to do that, what line-up should manager David Moyes select?
Our Everton writers have their say...
Joe Thomas
Well, there is no new right-back, which means an unhappy decision between Merlin Rohl and Jake O’Brien. Those are the only realistic options and everyone knows that but I still expect shoulders to slump when the team news is announced at 1.45pm.
I would start O'Brien. He offers less going forward but is better defensively and that matters with the likes of Yermy Pino and Ismaila Sarr - if the latter is involved given the interest in him.
If O'Brien is my right-back then that means a partnership of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite in the middle, with Vitalii Mykolenko on the left.
The injuries in the midfield make this a shoot-out between Harrison Armstrong and Hayden Hackney, for me. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is the nailed-on starter and I would include Rohl given his physical attributes and the form he has shown this summer.
Alongside them, Armstrong would be my pick. He has more Premier League experience than Hackney and has been excellent this summer - he deserves to be backed.
Up top, Iliman Ndiaye is best from the left and I would keep him there. On the right I would have Tyler Dibling. I could see a case for starting Brennan Johnson but Dibling has shown promise in recent weeks and I think it would be harmful to his growing confidence to take him out of the side at this stage, when no-one else has made a strong case for that position.
Thierno Barry starts the season as my main striker up front.
Everton (4-3-3): Pickford; O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Rohl, Dewsbury-Hall, Armstrong; Dibling, Barry, Ndiaye.
Tyrique George has enjoyed an impressive pre-season for Everton but the summer signing from Chelsea likes to operate on the left and Iliman Ndiaye looked so impressive there against Lille.
The Senegal international is the Blues’ most gifted player going forward so having looked so good in the position where he got so much joy during the final season at Goodison Park, I’d keep Ndiaye on the left against Crystal Palace as it appeared to give the team a balanced look.
Therefore, Tyler Dibling, who has also displayed some promise this summer, gets a huge opportunity on the opposite flank – with Everton’s latest signing Brennan Johnson waiting in the wings to potentially make his competitive debut as an impact substitute against his previous employers.
I’d therefore keep the same starting line-up as last time out with Merlin Rohl getting the nod at right-back and early chances for home-grown hero Harrison Armstrong and another summer signing Hayden Hackney to continue their fledgling partnership in the engine room and stake their claims while the Blues wait for Christian Norgaard and Player of the Season James Garner to return to fitness.
My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Rohl, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Armstrong, Hackney; Dibling, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Barry.