FA Cup: Sinking Everton Face Soaring Eagles for Surprise Semis Spot

Crystal Palace vs Everton

There is guaranteed to be at least one surprise team in the semi-finals of the FA Cup as Crystal Palace and Everton clash in the quarter-final stage.

Both teams last made the last four of the FA Cup back in 2016. Everton lost in the semis to Manchester United, who then beat Crystal Palace in the final after extra-time.

The FA Cup 2022 odds slightly favour Crystal Palace at home against Everton, who are in horrendous form and are in the midst of a relegation battle in the Premier League.

With the Toffees dealing with much bigger problems at the moment, the Eagles will be all too eager to swoop in and steal that semis spot.

Talking Points

Eagles suddenly fling high

Crystal Palace will head into their cup tie with Everton in fine form. They are unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions, with three wins and two draws. That includes a shock goalless draw with leaders Manchester City, a result which could prove to be quite crucial in the title race.

That marked the first time Crystal Palace have kept back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League since they beat both Man City and Wolves 2-0 in late October and early November last year.

Prior to the City draw, Palace also had back-to-back wins over Stoke in the FA Cup as well as another 2-0 victory over Wolves.

Jean-Philippe Mateta has started four of the last five games as the lead striker with Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise playing on the wings. The French forward and has done well in that role, scoring two goals. Zaha has also impressed, with three goals in his last five games.

Olise has registered no goals and just one assist in his last six starts, but he has provided his share of FA Cup 2022 highlights with two goals in three starts in the competition.

Palace manager Patrick Vieira is unlikely to make any notable changes to his side, which has been mostly settled over the last few weeks.

Crystal Palace are winless in their last five home games in the Premier League (three defeats, two draws). Although, they did face West Ham, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester City during that time. Their only two home wins in 2022 have come in the FA Cup, against Hartlepool and Stoke.

Toffees in a sticky situation

Everton are in big trouble. Four straight defeats and eight in their last nine have seen them drop down to 17th in the Premier League table, tied with 18th-placed Watford at 22 points. Although, the Toffees still have three games in hand on the Hornets.

Aside from a 3-0 win against Leeds, Everton’s only other wins in 2022 have been in the FA Cup. They needed extra-time to beat Championship side Hull 3-2, thumped fellow Premier League side Brentford 4-1, and beat non-league Boreham Wood 2-0.

Frank Lampard was brought in to help spark the Everton attack and get the best out of stars like Dele Alli, but the Toffees have gone without a goal in their last four games.

Star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed Everton’s most recent match at Wolves due to illness, and it remains to be seen whether he will play in the cup tie. Calvert-Lewin has struggled to regain any sort of form after returning from a lengthy injury layoff. He has just three goals this season and none in his six games since his comeback.

Everton still have a huge game coming up against 14th-placed Newcastle United before their FA Cup tie, which could significantly affect Lampard’s line-up decisions.

History

Everton have dominated Crystal Palace over the last few years. They went a stretch of 13 games from – 2015 to 2021 – without losing to the Eagles (six wins, seven draws).

However, that impressive unbeaten run finally came to an end in their first meeting of this season as Palace won 3-1 thanks to a Conor Gallagher brace.

These two clubs’ last meeting in the FA Cup came all the way back in 1972. After forcing a 2-2 draw away from home, Everton won the replay at Goodison Park 3-2.

Betting Tip 

SBOTOP odds have Crystal Palace installed as slight 2.12 favourites to get the win over Everton, who are pegged at 3.15. Meanwhile, a draw is similarly priced at 3.25.

The signs simply point to a Crystal Palace victory. The Eagles are in fine form and will be at home against an out-of-sorts Everton side that will have played a crucial Premier League match just a few days earlier.

With the Toffees in the midst of a relegation scrap, Frank Lampard likely wouldn’t mind getting knocked out, which would mean one fewer game to play as they’re playing for their Premier League lives. Look for Patrick Vieira and his Eagles to oblige as they edge out Everton to book their place in the semi-finals.

 

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