Crystal Palace vs Middlesbrough prediction, preview & betting tips

Crystal Palace will take on Middlesbrough in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, 8 September, with the visitors looking to pull off a Premier League giant-killing.

The hosts, on the other hand, will be eyeing more silverware after winning a cup competition in each of the last two seasons.

Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.

Crystal Palace vs Middlesbrough key stats

Crystal Palace won their first match of the season at the weekend.
Middlesbrough are unbeaten in their last three away games.
Both teams have scored in two of Crystal Palace's three matches this season.

Crystal Palace vs Middlesbrough: Visitors to come up short

Crystal Palace vs Middlesbrough — Tale of the Tape

Crystal Palace	vs	Middlesbrough
13th(Premier League)	Position	2nd(Championship)
3	Points	10
4	Goals For	8
8	Goals Against	5
0	Clean Sheets	1
20th	Home / Away Rank	7th

New Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage will have been relieved to get his first under his belt at the weekend, and he will now be able to relax a little more into his role as the Oliver Glasner replacement.

Replacing the Austrian is a formidable task, as Glasner led Crystal Palace to three trophies (if you include the Community Shield) across his two full seasons at Selhurst Park.

Sage has arguably been let down by the club's hierarchy over the summer in terms of transfers, but he still has a squad capable of beating Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup, and victory will see them progress to the competition's round of 16.

Given the cup-winning experience in this current Palace team, you would be foolish to count them out of another deep run.

With a league clash with Ipswich to come at the weekend, and their Europa League campaign starting next week, Sage will likely rest some key players on Tuesday.

As for Middlesbrough, there will be plenty of belief within the camp that they can down the Eagles on Tuesday after making a strong start to the new season.

Boro are currently second in the Championship after picking up 10 points from their first five games, with manager Kim Hellberg more determined than ever to secure promotion after losing the playoff final last season.

Middlesbrough have a rich history in this competition after winning it back in 2004, and while a repeat of that triumph is extremely unlikely this season, a win against Palace isn't beyond them.

Hellberg will also likely rest players after a busy start to the season, which has seen them play seven matches in 30 days.