Everton saw their brilliant opening to the season come crashing down last weekend at Bournemouth, and now the challenge for Ronald Koeman will be to get his team back up and running again when they host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Friday.
The Toffees were just two points behind the perfect Manchester City going into the round of matches last weekend, but they came up second best against Bournemouth, falling to a Junior Stanislas screamer.
While the result was quite a narrow one, Koeman will know his Everton side were poor on the day and the defeat was a deserved one. To get them back purring like they were in the first five matches of the season will be the plan when Palace come to Goodison Park.
"We need to be at our best on Friday night, and I expect that," Koeman said. "You like to see a reaction. But we are talking about one defeat from six in the Premier League – that is not bad.
"I think the problem in the first half (against Bournemouth) was we tried to pressing high, but not the whole team was involved in that, and then you get space in between the lines. That can make it look like your opponents are more aggressive, but the distances were not what we wanted.
"We did everything in the second half. They had one shot on target, scored a fantastic goal, and sometimes you need to accept a defeat. But, of course, we will try to be better in several aspects."
While Everton can cut the gap to leaders Manchester City to two points with a win, Crystal Palace are also a side on the up. After starting the Premier League season with three games without a win, Alan Pardew's side have won the next three, putting them in seventh, just three points behind fourth-placed Everton.
Team news: Everton: Former Palace man Yannick Bolasie, who moved to Everton this summer, is expected to start against his former team, with Pardew looking forward to the reunion. "I love Yala but I just hope he is not going to have one of his super games that he is capable of but of course he will be looking to impress," Pardew said.
Koeman will take a risk with Romelu Lukaku, despite the Belgium international carrying a foot injury, but Leighton Baines has been ruled out. The game comes soon for Darron Gibson and James McCarthy.
Crystal Palace: Pape Souare, Loic Remy and Jonathan Benteke are long-term injury victims, while Scott Dann will also miss this match with a hamstring problem. Wilfried Zaha, though, is expected to be available.
Where to Watch Live
Everton vs Crystal Palace is scheduled for an 8pm BST (3pm ET, 12.30 am IST next day) start. Live Streaing and TV information is below.
India: TV: Star Sports 4 and Star Sports Select HD1. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports HD2. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
Australia: TV: Optus Sport. Live Streaming: Optus Online.
USA: TV: NBCSN. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
