
Crystal Palace vs Everton Prediction and Betting Tips: Two selections for Thursday's FA Cup third round tie

The 2023/24 FA Cup third round fixtures start with an all-Premier League clash on Thursday night as Crystal Palace and Everton lock horns at Selhurst Park, live on ITV4 and ITVX.
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Despite a 10-point deduction, just five points separates Crystal Palace from Everton, who would be sitting in 12th place had they not been sanctioned by the Premier League. Having played out a 3-2 thriller in which The Toffees were marginally victorious through an Idrissa Gueye 86th-minute winner less than two months ago, this third round fixture should be an exciting prospect for fans and neutrals alike.
The home side are minor favourites to win the tie at 31/20 against an Everton side fancied ever so slightly less at 19/10, with the proposition of a third round replay considered a shade under 30% at odds of 12/5.
Crystal Palace vs Everton Tips
The return of Odsonne Edouard is the focus for our two bets. The Frenchman made the bench for Palace's 3-1 win over Brentford before the new year and will be pushing for a start over Jean-Philippe Mateta after missing three games during the festive period. Roy Hodgson can afford to go strong on Thursday considering that his players will have 16 days rest before their next game against Arsenal, meaning we could see Edouard back in from the off.
He's been flagged offside seven times in the Premier League this season, with two of those coming in the first half of this pair's November head-to-head. Sean Dyche's men caught Palace out four times that day, with Edouard's 2-2 equalising goal checked for another from the forward.
If Edouard doesn't start then it's still worth taking Mateta on for the same bet at 10/11 with Sky, who has equalled his striking counterpart's tally of seven despite only making nine league starts. Between them they make up for almost a third of their side's 24 Premier League offsides during the 2023/24 campaign and considering how their last meeting produced five goals, you'd think both teams should be on high alert to avoid similar defensive trappings.
We also fancy Edouard to etch himself onto the scoresheet upon his return, just like he did in the 3-2 loss with a fantastic touch and finish in the 73rd minute. The former Celtic man has two goals in his last four full matches and was fairly active before being forced off at half-time through injury in the December clash with Liverpool.
Palace's top goalscorer has netted six times in the league this season, making it seven goals from 16 games across all competitions with an additional strike against Plymouth in August's EFL Cup second round tie with Plymouth. The South Londoners' main goal threat is also the game's shots on target leader with 15 for the season and has managed just one shot less than Eberechi Eze with 39 across all players for both clubs.
Bet365 are the market's best price going 5/2 which is well worth a punt compared to the same selection sitting as short as 15/8 elsewhere.
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