Everton vs. Crystal Palace: Combined XI ahead of Premier League clash

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 05: Romelu Lukaku (C) of Everton celebrates scoring his team's first goal with his team mates Bryan Oviedo (L) and Aaron Lennon (R) during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and West Ham United at Goodison Park on March 5, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) /

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CLEVELAND , OH – MAY 29: Christian Benteke /

Striker

The striker position in this team had some serious competition with both Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku available. Enner Valencia also has a right to be at least mentioned, but it’s only really about two men.

Lukaku is obviously ahead of where Benteke is right now, but with Benteke rebuilding at Palace, the gap could be a lot closer come the end of the season. Benteke has scored two goals in four games so far for his new club.

Lukaku has netted four goals in five games, including a hat trick against Sunderland. Lukaku has to be one of, if not the, first names on the team sheet. He’s in. And Benteke deserves to join him after performances in the past few weeks.

The 25-year-old looks like he’s starting to find some of his old form again after a disastrous time at Liverpool. A Benteke-Lukaku partnership would have goals galore, if nothing else. Service from the wide areas would be plentiful, with Mirallas playing from the right wing and Townsend on the left.

Here is the final XI:

Everton-Palace XI - Football tactics and formations /

Injuries effected some positions, but overall there were some very straight forward choices and some debatable ones you can go either way on. The final tally saw Everton come out with the most players in the team by a margin of 7-4.

Next: Liverpool - The hungriest team in Premier League

It could easily be closer. No question. Hopefully the game itself is as closely contested on Friday.

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