Everton Begins New Season Under Moyes with Crystal Palace Clash
Everton’s 2026/27 Premier League story will begin where the club always feels most sure of itself – at home, under new lights and new expectations.
David Moyes’ return to the Hill Dickinson Stadium gets its first league chapter on Saturday August 22, when Crystal Palace arrive for the curtain-raiser. No easing in, no soft launch. A new season, a familiar face in the dugout, and a fanbase desperate to move on from last year’s 13th-place drift.
From there, the calendar wastes no time.
Early tests, old giants
A trip to Bournemouth on August 29 quickly snaps Everton out of any opening-day comfort, before the first heavyweight rolls into town. On September 5, Manchester United visit Hill Dickinson, an early barometer of how far and how fast Moyes can drag this squad upwards.
The month doesn’t relent. Tottenham away on September 12, newly-promoted Ipswich at home a week later. By the end of September, Everton will already have faced one of the league’s traditional powers and one of its fresh arrivals. The schedule is asking questions from day one.
October sharpens the edge. Hull away on the 10th, then Chelsea at home on the 17th, Arsenal at the Emirates on the 24th and Newcastle at St James’ Park on the 31st. Four games, four very different problems. It’s the kind of run that can turn a season one way or the other before the clocks even go back.
Lampard returns, derby revenge marked in red
November brings a date that will stir plenty of emotion. On the 7th, Coventry City come to Hill Dickinson – and with them, former Everton manager Frank Lampard. It’s not a grudge fixture, but it is a reminder of a recent past the club is trying to leave behind.
Brentford away follows on November 21. Then comes the one everyone has already circled.
On the weekend of November 28, Liverpool cross Stanley Park for the Merseyside derby, returning to the scene of last season’s stoppage-time heartbreak for Everton. That late defeat still stings. This is the first real chance for Moyes’ side to rewrite that memory and plant a flag in front of their own supporters.
The reverse fixture at Anfield lands on January 30. Two derbies, two pressure points that will shape the mood around the club deep into the campaign.
Festive fire at Hill Dickinson
December offers no respite. An away trip to Aston Villa on the 2nd sets the tone for a busy month, followed by Fulham at home on the 5th, Brighton away on the 12th and Nottingham Forest away on the 19th.
Boxing Day, though, belongs to the blue half of Merseyside.
Sunderland visit Hill Dickinson on December 26, a traditional, old-school fixture on a day that always feels bigger than three points. Four days later, on December 30, Manchester City come to town for an 8pm kick-off. It’s a brutal double-header to close the year: history on Boxing Day, the reigning superpower just before the calendar flips.
New year, familiar battles
The turn of the year doesn’t soften the blows. Everton start 2027 away at Leeds on January 2, then host Aston Villa on the 6th. Coventry away on the 16th and Brentford at home on the 23rd lead straight into that Anfield derby on January 30.
February brings Newcastle at home on the 6th and a midweek 8pm kick-off under the lights against Leeds on the 10th. Sunderland away on the 20th and Nottingham Forest at home on the 27th round off a month that feels built for momentum – if Everton can find it.
March, by contrast, is laced with danger. A trip to Manchester City on the 3rd, Manchester United away on the 13th and Tottenham at home on the 20th. Three fixtures that will test not just the quality of Moyes’ side, but their nerve.
Run-in loaded with subplots
By April, every point will carry extra weight. Crystal Palace away on the 10th and Bournemouth at home on the 17th offer opportunities to build a run, before Brighton visit Hill Dickinson on the 24th.
Then comes the final push.
May opens with Fulham away on the 1st, followed by Hull at home on the 8th. On May 15, Everton travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, a game that so often arrives with something on the line for at least one of the clubs involved.
The last home match of the league season sees Arsenal come to Hill Dickinson on May 23. A week later, on May 30, Everton close out their Premier League campaign at Portman Road against Ipswich Town – a promoted side that could be fighting for survival, or much more, by then.
Promoted tests and key dates
All three promoted clubs appear in Everton’s first 10 league games: Ipswich at home in September, Hull away in October, Coventry at home in November. It’s a quiet but crucial thread running through the early months. Drop points there, and the table can quickly look unforgiving.
Beyond the league, the domestic cup markers are already set. The FA Cup third round falls on January 9, the Carabao Cup final on March 21 and the FA Cup final on May 22. Everton will hope those dates end up mattering to them, not just sitting as lines on a fixture list.
For now, though, the picture is clear. A home opener under Moyes, an early meeting with United, a derby with revenge in the air, and a run-in dotted with the division’s elite.
Everton know exactly what’s coming. The only unknown is how ready they’ll be when Crystal Palace walk out at Hill Dickinson on August 22.
