The first week of 2024 brings with it the first FA Cup week of the season where two Premier League sides kick off round three of the competition as Crystal Palace welcome Everton to Selhurst Park on Thursday night.
The third round sees the introduction of Premier League teams to the FA Cup and the action of this stage of the competition sees Everton and Palace kick things off. The two have had below-par seasons once more in the top flight of English football, although Everton sit in much better form than the Eagles, despite being three places below them in the league table.
The Toffees head into this game with just eight wins on the board, although this is three more than that of Palace. What's more, Sean Dyceh's side have let in one less goal too with 28 on the board, while scoring two more than Palace's tally of 22.
Everton have lost one more game, however, with 10 so far in the Premier League, but their run in the EFL Cup was much better with a journey to the quarter-finals that saw the Merseyside outfit knocked out on penalties at home to Fulham after a 1-1 draw.
These two sides have also already met in the Premier League this season, as Everton ran out 3-2 winners in a thriller in south London. Vitaliy Mykolenko scored after just a few seconds that day before Eberechi Eze netted a penalty after five minutes. Abdoulaye Doucoure scored early on in the second half to regain the lead for Everton before Odsonne Edouard bagged for Palace. Idrissa Gueye stole all three points in the end, as he netted with four minutes left on the clock.
Despite the improved form with Everton and a win for Palace last time out, neither one of these sides had a merry festive period, as Dyche's men lost 2-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of December, while they also lost to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur around Christmas time.
Palace did ease to a 3-1 win over the struggling Brentford but losses to Chelsea and Bournemouth and draws with City, Liverpool, West Ham and Brighton & Hove Albion meant just one win from seven games throughout December. In fact, Roy Hodgson's side have only that win over Brentford on the board since the last meeting with Everton back in early November.