‘Not great’ – Everton star ruled out of Manchester United clash as Toffees without nine players vs Palace
Everton have confirmed a serious injury blow ahead of their final Premier League home match against Manchester United next week.
The Toffees are back in action when they travel to face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening and the injury blow comes at a bad time for Everton, who will now be without nine players against Palace. David Moyes has confirmed a medial knee ligament injury for key Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye, with the former Sheffield United star also set to miss their final home match against United next Saturday lunchtime.
Everton will also be without key midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure against Palace after he was sent off after the final whistle of their heroic 2-2 draw with Liverpool in midweek, though he should return when they face United next week.
Moyes confirms major injury blow
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Everton boss Moyes confirmed the setback to Ndiaye, who has also been ruled out of the home match against United. “Ili has got a medial ligament injury. It’s not looking great at the moment,” he said. “We’re probably not sure about how long it’s going to be and we’ll maybe get a bit more on that [soon] but it’s certainly going to be a few weeks, anyway.”
The injury update comes as bad news for Everton, with Ndiaye their top scorer this season with eight goals across all competitions, including six in the Premier League. Nathan Patterson (hamstring), Orel Mangala (knee), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (hamstring), Seamus Coleman (calf), Armando Broja (ankle), Youssef Chermiti (thigh) and Dwight McNeil (knee) all remain unavailable and will not be in action against Palace, while Doucoure is also suspended.
Moyes will provide a further fitness update on his squad when he speaks to the press ahead of the clash with former side United next week.
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Heading into game week 25 of the Premier League campaign, Crystal Palace currently sit 12th in the table, just four points off of a top-half spot.
They have managed to drag themselves away from a relegation battle, now sitting 13 points ahead of 18th-place Leicester City.
The Eagles are averaging some of the worst attacking numbers in the league. But, on the flip side, their defensive shape and quality are their biggest asset right now under Oliver Glasner, conceding 30 goals in 24 games and averaging 13.1 shots against them per game (ranking 10th in the league for this metric).
Crystal Palace face Everton at Selhurst Park in their next Premier League fixture, who currently sit 15th in the league, but are coming off of a very strong string of results, beating Tottenham, Brighton and Leicester in the league and drawing 2-2 with Liverpool.
Crystal Palace team news
Glasner will remain without Joel Ward (calf injury), Chadi Riad (knee injury) and Cheick Doucoure (knee injury) heading into the Everton game this weekend. Doucoure will now need to undergo surgery on his knee, which means he will miss the entirety of this season.
The likes of Eberechi Eze, Eddie Nketiah and Ismaila Sarr are all being assessed ahead of the Toffees game, with the first two currently having knocks/slight injuries and the latter having missed the last match due to illness.
Luckily for the Eagles, Adam Wharton has made his return to action in recent weeks, just in time to take over in midfield from Doucoure, which will give Palace a strong boost.
But after making some new signings in January, and the few injuries they have picked up, Glasner could look to change things up against Everton, adding a new dynamic to his side.
