Neither Crystal Palace nor Everton have had much to shout about with regards to their Premier League campaigns as both are set to finish the season in the bottom half of the table.
Palace earned their first win of 2016 last weekend, but they remain 16th in the standings, while Everton travel to Selhurst Park this evening looking for just their second league win in seven games.
Crystal Palace
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It has been a difficult few months for the Eagles in the top flight as they went 14 games without winning a single Premier League fixture until last weekend.
Alan Pardew's men managed to end their frustrating slump with a 1-0 victory over Norwich City.
It was Jason Puncheon who scored the only goal of the game as he struck in the 68th minute to give the Eagles some relief following a difficult start to 2016.
Only Sunderland, Watford, Newcastle United and Aston Villa have a worse form record than Palace, but they are not in grave danger of falling into the relegation zone as they are 10 points clear with six games left to play.
Prior to last Saturday's triumph, Pardew's side had not won a league game since December 19 when they earned a 2-1 victory over Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.
Since then, goals have been hard to come by as they went five consecutive Premier League games without scoring, but they improved slightly by netting 13 goals in 10 fixtures.
The goals did not give them victories, though, but they have the chance of going on a decent run after last weekend as they face an Everton side that are dealing with their own troubles on the pitch.
There has been some positivity for Palace this week as Dwight Gayle is believed to have agreed a new contract with the club, almost a year after the Eagles accepted a bid from Bristol City.
The striker has had some injury problems this season, but will try to make an impact against the Toffees, and perhaps an aerial threat is the way to go as Everton have conceded more headed goals (12) than any other team in the Premier League this season.
Picking up some wins at this time of Palace's season is most welcome ahead of their FA Cup semi-final against Watford at Wembley next Sunday.
The danger for Palace, though, is that some of their players may already have one eye on the showdown, which could pull focus away from their upcoming league fixtures.
Recent form: LDLLDW
Recent form (all competitions): DLWLDW
Everton
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Like Palace, Everton have an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley to look forward to, and they will face either Manchester United or West Ham United for a place in the showpiece next month.
The Toffees could end the season with silverware, but that has not detracted from the doom and gloom that currently engulfs Goodison Park.
The Merseyside outfit finished a disappointing 11th in the Premier League last season, and as it stands, they are on course to finish in a lower position as they sit 14th in the standings with seven games left to play.
Everton have gone four league games without a win and tensions could be felt among the travelling supporters at Vicarage Road last weekend when one group unfurled a 'Martinez out' banner prior to the Toffees' 1-1 draw with Watford.
Martinez has insisted that he understands the frustration among the fans as results have not gone the club's way of late, but it draws up questions as to why Everton are not getting the points they desire.
There are many creative players, including Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley, Gerard Deulofeu and Aaron Lennon, within the squad, but they have struggled to get Everton over the line in the last few weeks.
Leighton Baines admitted that there is a lack of chemistry on the pitch between the players, but Martinez did not take too kindly to the comments and the left-back ended up apologising.
Something is not quite clicking for the Merseyside outfit at the moment and they currently have the 15th worst defence in the league as they have kept just eight clean sheets and concede an average of 1.39 goals per game.
The positive for Everton, though, is that they have the best shot conversion rate in the Premier League this season having scored with 18% of their attempts.
Recent form: LWLLLD
Recent form (all competitions): WLWLLD
Team News
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Everton will travel to Selhurst Park without captain Phil Jagielka because of a hamstring injury that he suffered against Watford at Vicarage Road last weekend.
Martinez revealed earlier this week that the centre-back will undergo a second scan to determine the extent of the injury, which has put him in doubt for next weekend's FA Cup semi-final.
With regards to the rest of the team, Tom Cleverley could miss out tonight as he picked up a knock last weekend, but Barkley should be given the green light to start.
As for the home side, Emmanuel Adebayor could return to the fold after being absent from the last two fixtures because of injury, but there will be no place for James McArthur or Marouane Chamakh.
Dwight Gayle returned to the starting lineup at the weekend, and will once again be vying for a position up front.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Jedinak, Cabaye, Zaha, Puncheon, Bolasie; Wickham
Everton possible starting lineup:
Robles; Coleman, Stones, Funes Mori, Baines; McCarthy, Barry; Lennon, Barkley, Deulofeu; Lukaku
Head To Head
Earlier this season, nothing could separate the two sides as they played out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park, with Lukaku and Scott Dann getting on the scoresheet.
In their last five Premier League meetings, Palace have been beaten just once by Everton having won two and drawn the remaining two fixtures.
Lukaku may rediscover his shooting boots this evening, though, as he has scored in each of his last three league matches against Palace.
We say: Crystal Palace 1-1 Everton
Neither team are in the greatest of form right now so there are no indications that tonight's match will be a thriller, but it could be a warm-up to a potential FA Cup final between the pair, where silverware will be on the line. Palace are in better spirits this week as they won their first game of 2016 last weekend, but Martinez is under pressure from the fans and needs his Everton team to respond. Earlier in the season, the game at Goodison resulted in a 1-1 draw, and it would not be a surprise to see the same scoreline at Selhurst Park.
Danielle Joynson
