Credit: Tung Manh Phan

Daniel Davis

Sun 10 May 2026 11:23, UK

David Moyes was refreshingly honest when admitting he has been “dreaming” of leading Everton into Europe for the first time in almost a decade.

However, he will also have endured his fair share of sleepless nights.

After shipping last-gasp losing goals against Liverpool and West Ham and an equaliser from Manchester City last time out, the Toffees are now the only team in Premier League history to have conceded a result-altering goal in the 90th minute or later in three straight matches.

It has been a bruising run of form that put paid to their slender hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. Instead, they will have to turn their attention to either the Europa League or Conference League, but even those competitions now look to be quite a way off.

Ahead of Sunday afternoon’s trip to Crystal Palace, Everton are 10th in the top-flight, albeit just four points adrift of sixth-placed Bournemouth heading into the run-in.

Everton have no more room for error

It has been eight long years since Everton last rubbed shoulders with the big boys in Europe under Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce. Still, supporters may not look back too fondly on their most recent escapade, having been dumped out of the Europa League group stage.

It is a crying shame that a club as prestigious as the Toffees have too often found themselves away from the continent’s biggest competitions. They have looked on enviously while their top-flight rivals jetted off on away days to remember instead.

Look no further than Palace for a reminder of that. Oliver Glasner’s charges sealed their spot in the Europa Conference League final after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 5-2 on aggregate. Only Rayo Vallecano stands in the way of them and a truly monumental achievement.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility, however, that Everton are able to follow in their footsteps much sooner than expected, but their hopes will likely depend on Sunday’s result at Selhurst Park. It’s win or bust; do or die. Anything less than three points, and it is all over.

They will have no better opportunity to get the victory that would put them back on track. Palace are mired in mid-table, their attentions fully fixed on their major European final. If the Toffees can’t get the better of them, they can forget Moyes’ European dream.

The Scot will be desperate to get them over the line. He is, of course, no stranger to lifting silverware, having ended West Ham’s 43-year trophy drought after winning the Europa League in 2023. Now, he wants to repeat the feat on Merseyside.

“I’ve been sort of dreaming over the years that I could get it for the Everton supporters – that would be what I really want to do,” said Moyes. “I want us to play well, and I think we have done for most of the season.

“I think we’ve been a more progressive team, trying to play better football, trying to stamp something down which suits us as a team.”

Crucially, his squad have clearly bought into his ambition. They are itching to bring fabled European nights to their new surroundings at Hill Dickinson Stadium, on which £750million was splashed despite a series of lower mid-table finishes.

That bold move could now pay off in style.

In the dressing room, players have openly spoken about gunning for Europe. They are doing it with smiles on their faces, having accepted the challenge with open arms.

“Yes, I remember [James Tarkowski] said before the Man City game, ‘Let’s enjoy this race’,” left-back Vitalii Mykolenko told Everton’s official website.

“We’re still in it and we can get nine points if we win three games, which is ideal for us. If we do that, we can easily get into Europe. This is our target, our small dream.”

They will also know, however, that improvements are required across the board. They are conceding too many daggers late in games, with dropping concentration levels taking a vicious toll. Moyes will also need to address his obvious lack of squad depth in the summer.

Fresh firepower is needed, too. After all, the Toffees have been in the bottom six for goals scored in each of the last four seasons. Should they qualify for Europe, that bluntness would likely dash their hopes of progressing beyond the group phase before they had even begun.

David Moyes will be quietly confident

With three matches remaining, this is the stage of the season where heroes and villains are forged. Everton will next play Palace and Sunderland before rounding off the campaign against Tottenham. Really, they will need a maximum haul of nine points.

Judging from their combined records against those three opponents, the Toffees should take 5.17 points, which would see them end up on 53 points.

That, though, would likely see them miss out on Europe, with Opta’s supercomputer projecting that sixth place to eighth place will end on between 53 and 55 points. Still, their mooted tally suggests they will round off the season unbeaten with one win and two draws.

Handily, it would also hand them their highest points total since 2020-21, proving that Moyes’ project is much more advanced than thought possible last summer. Whether that will guide them into Europe remains to be seen, but the 63-year-old should be quietly confident.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Goodison Park.