Everton welcome Crystal Palace on Saturday carrying a commanding head-to-head record that stands in sharp contrast to the uncertain form both sides bring into the new campaign. The hosts have won 6 of the last 10 meetings between these two, with Palace yet to claim a single victory in that sequence. That fixture typifies the pattern across this head-to-head series: goals have flowed in 6 of the 10 meetings, averaging 2.4 per game, and both teams have scored in 6 of those 10. Over 2.5 goals has landed in 6 of 10, suggesting a historically open fixture when these two meet.

Everton's recent form paints a mixed picture, rated at 4 out of 10 by Formatic's weighted scoring system. Across their last 5 outings they have managed 1 win, 2 draws and 2 losses, scoring 7 goals and conceding 6. The competitive fixtures tell the more sombre story: a 0-1 defeat away to Tottenham on 24 May followed by a 1-3 home reverse against Sunderland a week earlier, before that 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace. Pre-season has brought a 4-0 win away to Dundee and a goalless stalemate with Bolton, but those friendlies carry lighter weight than the league results. Everton found the net in 3 of those 5 and kept clean sheets in 2, suggesting intermittent defensive solidity but no consistent attacking rhythm.

Crystal Palace arrive with a marginally better weighted form score of 4.89 out of 10, also classified as patchy, giving them a slender 0.89-point edge in recent momentum. Their last 5 fixtures produced 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, with 9 goals scored and 8 conceded. The visitors ended their competitive season with a 1-0 home victory over Rayo Vallecano in the UEFA Europa Conference League on 27 May, sandwiched between a 1-2 home defeat to Arsenal and that 2-2 draw at Brentford on 17 May. Pre-season results have swung wildly, from a 5-1 thrashing of Swindon Town at home to a 0-3 loss away to Bromley. Palace scored in 4 of their last 5 and recorded 1 clean sheet, pointing to a side more inclined to trade goals than shut up shop.

The data suggests a fixture likely to produce goals, with Everton's historical dominance over Palace clashing against the reality that both sides enter this opener in uncertain form. The head-to-head trend of both teams scoring in 6 of 10 meetings aligns with recent profiles that show neither defence particularly watertight. Everton conceded 6 in their last 5 while Palace shipped 8, and both have demonstrated the ability to find the net even when results have been inconsistent. The 2.4 goals-per-meeting average and the frequency of over 2.5 goals in this fixture series points toward an open contest, with Everton's 6 wins from 10 offering context rather than certainty given current form sits level between the two at the patchy end of the scale.