Crystal Palace without four senior players for Everton visit
Everton will welcome Crystal Palace to Goodison Park on Thursday (19 May) for their final home game of the season as they battle relegation.
The Toffees know that victory on Merseyside against the Eagles will be enough to secure their Premier League status for next season even if Burnley also win because Leeds United will be four points behind with one game to go.
Frank Lampard might have his work cut out though with both Jarrad Branthwaite and Salomon Rondon suspended after their straight red cards in the 3-2 defeat against Brentford at the weekend.
It isn’t smooth sailing for Patrick Vieira and Palace either though, despite having nothing but pride to play for at Goodison, with four potential starters out injured for the contest.
“James McArthur, Michael Olise and Nathan Ferguson remain sidelined for The Eagles,” injury expert Den Dinnery said, via his personal Twitter account. “James Tomkins is also out of the squad that travels to Everton.”
Relief
McArthur, Ferguson and Tomkins won’t have been keeping Lampard or the Everton players up at night had they been fit but Olise is a totally different kettle of fish.
The 20-year-old Frenchman only signed for the Eagles last January but was sent back on loan to Reading for the remainder of the season and he has burst onto the Premier League scene this campaign.
His electric technical ability and lethal left foot have caused a huge amount of problems for defenders and he perhaps hasn’t hit the goals and assists numbers he should have at Selhurst Park.
Despite the lack of end product at times, Vitaliy Mykolenko will be glad that Olise won’t be his opposite number at Goodison Park on Thursday and he can focus on helping the Toffees attack more than defend.
Vieira will have a decent replacement in either Eberechi Eze or Jeff Schlupp but neither possesses the same fear factor as the French youth international does.
In other Everton news, the Eagles are leaving their journey to the North-West until the last possible moment to avoid disruption.
Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook for 24/7 updates on Everton plus more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.