Everton without Nørgaard and Iroegbunam vs Crystal Palace

Everton will be without Christian Nørgaard and Tim Iroegbunam for Saturday's Premier League opener against Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium, manager David Moyes confirmed on Friday. James Garner is also a doubt for the 3pm GMT kick-off.

Nørgaard, who joined Everton this summer from Premier League champions Arsenal, is ruled out alongside Iroegbunam, who has picked up a minor thigh strain. Garner, meanwhile, is still recovering from a hernia operation.

Moyes addressed the absences at his pre-match press conference at Finch Farm. "Tim Iroegbunam has an abductor strain so won't make it tomorrow. Jimmy is returning from a hernia operation. Christian Norgaard may not be fit enough to start," he said.

With the transfer window closing at 11pm GMT on Tuesday 1 September, Moyes was also asked about the club's search for a right-back. "We have identified a few right-backs who we like, we have bid for a few. We are right in there. We have got Jake O'Brien, Merlin Röhl did well in pre-season, Jimmy Garner was excellent there. We are certainly short on numbers, and have room to get a right-back," he said.

For Crystal Palace, Dwight McNeil is set to return to Hill Dickinson Stadium after joining the Eagles this summer, with Brennan Johnson moving in the opposite direction to Everton. McNeil spent three seasons at Everton after signing from Burnley in 2022.

"It all starts this week with a good opening game at the weekend against Everton. It'll be nice to see the lads there again – but there's a job to be done. We want to get off to a winning start and get three points on the board," McNeil said.