Victories as a response to point reductions

Fans and those in charge of Everton Football Club have to deal with bad news at almost regular intervals. During the season, the Toffees were deducted 10 points for breaching the Premier League's financial regulations from the 2021/2022 season, and on Monday another message arrived in the mailbox of the Goodison Park club, according to which the nine-time English champions have to deal with allegations of non-compliance with certain standards again. Once again, Everton are threatened with points being deducted, which would put the club from Liverpool in dire danger of being relegated from the league.

As professionals must of course continue to focus on the sport and above all on the things they can influence themselves, this new terrible news should not have any negative impact on coach Sean Dyche's team. On the contrary, Everton's mentality has been competitive throughout the season and the Toffees have had a solid campaign so far. That is why they are among the favorites in the replay of the third round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night against Crystal Palace (10.45 PM EAT).

Premier League charge Everton and Nottingham Forest for breaking spending rules

In the first meeting almost a fortnight ago, the teams played a goalless draw and the Toffees generally have a very stable defence. The special importance of this head-to-head match cannot be denied either, as the winner, to be decided on penalties on Wednesday if necessary, not only moves on to the fourth round, but will play at home to Luton Town. Therefore, tonight's winning side has an excellent chance to go far in the most prestigious cup competition.

Much like last season, when Everton narrowly avoided relegation in 17th place, the Toffees will also have to worry about staying in the English top flight. This time, however, coach Sean Dyche's team inadvertently found themselves in a precarious situation. If you were to add the 10 points deducted to the current score, Everton would be in a safe 12th place, 11 steps ahead of the relegation zone.

In purely sporting terms, the curve of form recently also showed that the team is going in the wrong direction. The Liverpool Blues are winless in their last six competitive games. In the league, they suffered as many as three consecutive defeats, in which, unusually, they conceded a whopping eight goals. In the only two competitive games so far in the 2024 calendar year, the Toffees have kept a clean sheet in the FA Cup and the Premier League. However, there was no win against Crystal Palace or Aston Villa. Both matches ended nil-nil.

Pep's flop could become Old Roy's temporary savior

While Everton toiled over 90 minutes three days ago in their clash with Aston Villa, Palace were one of the few Premier League teams to enjoy the rare luxury of a weekend off, giving Roy Hodgson plenty of time to reflect on his side's shortcomings. Despite the London outfit failing to capitalize on their Selhurst Park against Everton, Palace's draw at least marked an improvement on their 3-2 loss to Dyche's men in November's league clash.

The Eagles regained a touch of resilience over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Indeed, only one of Crystal Palace's last five matches in all competitions has ended in defeat, and even then Chelsea only won 2-1. Hodgson's team can boast of points against Manchester City and Brighton in that series, while before New Year's Eve, they beat Brentford 3-1 and further boosted morale.

FA CUP

Third round replays

Tuesday

Wolverhampton - Brentford 3-2 (1-1) AET

/Semedo 36, Frazer 72, Cunha 105+5 pen - Collins 13, Maupay 51/

Bristol City - West Ham 1-0 (1-0)

/Conway 3/

Bolton - Luton 1-2 (1-1)

/Charles 11 - Chong 15, Ogbene 57/

Birmingham - Hull (0-1)

/Stransfield 66 - Lokilo 12/

Eastleigh - Newport (0-1)

/McCallum 48 - Wildig 3, Clarke 60, Evans 72/

Wednesday

22.45: (3.90) Blackpool (3.50) Nott.Forest (1.95)

22.45: (2.00) Everton (3.40) Crystal Palace (3.90)

22.45: (2.85) Bristol Rovers (3.40) Norwich (2.30)

***odds are subject to change