April 25 2019

Christian Benteke

Hunter Young picks out the player clashes to watch for as Everton pay a visit to Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park.

After a massive victory at the Emirates, Palace will return home to face the surging Toffees of Everton. Everton are on good form and have won four of their last five, with the most recent being a 4-0 stomping of Manchester United last weekend.

Everton will also be pushing hard for the victory with the potential for a Europa League place only two points away. Palace suffered defeat in this fixture earlier this season, falling victim to two late goals at Goodison Park and will hope to avoid a similar fate at home. If you fancy backing them to do so, then check out these betting promotion codes.

Christian Benteke v Michael Keane

The physical battle between Michael Keane, along with fellow imposing centre-back Kurt Zouma, and Christian Benteke will be one that bears watching all game. The Englishman has emerged as the leader of the Everton defence, appearing in 30 games this term. The defender has also forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s national team plans and will look cement his place in contention long term with a strong finish to his impressive campaign.

After nearly a year without a goal Christian Benteke finally broke his barren spell with a powerful header against the Gunners last week. The Belgian looked more confident in all areas of the game last week with his hold-up play being key to Wilfried Zaha’s goal to restore the lead. Another strike in front of the home fans could go a long way towards restoring Benteke’s confidence heading into the summer.

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Luka Milivojevic v Gylfi Sigurosson

Icelandic playmaker Gylfi Sigurosson has been an iron man for Everton this campaign, joining keeper Jordan Pickford as the only players to appear in every Premier League match. The midfielder is also the joint-top scorer while also leading the team in assists, making limiting his impact a key to stopping Everton's attack.

The man who will be primarily tasked with slowing Sigurosson will be Serbian midfielder Luka Milivojevic. The Palace captain has turned in another impressive season in the red and blue and will want to finish it strong with a victory over Everton, a feat not accomplished by the Eagles since 2014.

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Joel Ward v Richarlison

The other joint-top scorer, with 16, is Brazilian striker Richarlison. The dynamic forward is a dangerous threat off the dribble and is never afraid to take a defender head on. While Richarlison is a versatile player, he has lined up on the right side recently, putting him in direct competition with the opposing team’s left-back.

This week that left-back will likely be Joel Ward. It was a surprise to see the Palace veteran start last week but he justified the decision putting in a strong performance against the intimidating Arsenal attack. He will have to put in another good game against Richarlison if he wants to hold the starting place over Patrick van Aanholt for the rest of the season.

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