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A place in the English League Cup quarter-finals is up for grabs when Fulham welcome Crystal Palace to Craven Cottage on Wednesday, October 28, in what promises to be a fiery London derby.
Both sides have been underperforming in the league, but this competition offers a welcome distraction, and victory in midweek would mean they have a one in eight chance of winning the EFL Cup.
Being at home, Fulham will be hoping to capitalise on a partisan crowd, but their record against the Eagles leaves a lot to be desired, which in turn could inspire the visitors to achieve something positive in what has been a sub-par season so far.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Fulham vs Crystal Palace key stats
- Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last five head-to-heads with Fulham.
- Fulham have won back-to-back matches for the first time since February this year.
- The Cottagers kept three clean sheets across their last six matches.
Fulham vs Crystal Palace preview: Hosts to finally get over the line
Fulham vs Crystal Palace — Tale of the Tape
| Fulham | vs | Crystal Palace |
|---|---|---|
| 15th | Position | 17th |
| 8 | Points | 7 |
| 8 | Goals For | 9 |
| 10 | Goals Against | 19 |
| 3 | Clean Sheets | 1 |
| 13th (H) | Home / Away Rank | 15th (A) |
Under the guidance of Alvaro Arbeloa, it seemed that nothing was going to come right for Fulham, especially since they went on a six-game winless run in the Premier League.
However, back-to-back wins have lifted the mood around Craven Cottage, and the Cottagers have a chance to take it to another level if they can qualify for the next round of the EFL Cup.
The West Londoners got to this point in the competition after competing in the two previous rounds, the first of which they beat Wimbledon comfortably, while the second saw them edge out West Ham 3-2.
The problem that Fulham face is their poor recent record against Palace, one that sees them winless in five competitive matches, four of which Palace won, but there is no time like the present, and having lost just one of their recent six matches in all competitions, the hosts seem likely to get that monkey off their backs.
Crystal Palace are under similar circumstances to their hosts in that they had to replace Oliver Glasner in the dugout during the summer, and they did so with Pierre Sage.
After doing wonders in Ligue 1 with Lens last season, Sage was identified as the man to take Palace forward, but it has not gone according to plan so far.
The pressure is already on the Frenchman, with the likes of Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira being linked to the job at Selhurst Park; however, a win on Wednesday night away from home would stave off the sack, at least for the time being.
The Eagles are without a win in their recent four outings, losing three of them, while they have managed just one win across their last seven matches.
The visitors will hope to reproduce what previous Palace teams have done against Fulham to book their ticket for the next round of the competition, but their form suggests that their recent dominance over the Cottagers is coming to an end.
Fulham vs Crystal Palace form guide & betting tips
| Fulham | vs | Crystal Palace |
|---|---|---|
WWDWW |
Form | WLLDL |
| 7 | Goals For | 7 |
| 5 | Goals Against | 13 |
WW |
EFL Cup | W |
Whispers predicts: Fulham 1-0 Crystal Palace
With Fulham being the team currently in better form, backing them to win at 1.80 odds seems like a logical selection.
Three of the hosts' last five matches produced goals at both ends, while the same can be said of Palace's recent five outings, which lends itself to a BTTS – Yes pick.
However, Arbeloa's men have now kept consecutive clean sheets heading into this fixture, and Palace failed to score in two of their last three outings, which is why BTTS – No at 2.19 odds makes sense.
Based on the same data, backing Fulham to win-to-nil at 3.30 odds is an enticing option.
In terms of goalscorers, Oscar Bobb scored a wonderful winner against Coventry City at the weekend, and with 1.67 odds on him scoring or assisting in this game, it is worth backing.
By that same token, Alex Iwobi is another influential player in attack for the hosts with odds of 1.85 for him to score or grab an assist.
> Fulham to win | Likelihood: Medium
> BTTS – No at 2.19 | Likelihood: Medium
> Fulham to win-to-nil at 3.00 | Likelihood: Medium
> Player to score or assist – Oscar Bobb at 1.67 | Likelihood: Medium
> Player to score or assist – Alex Iwobi at 1.85 | Likelihood: Medium
| Fulham | vs | Crystal Palace |
|---|---|---|
|
WWDWW
|
Form |
WLLDL
|
| 7 | Goals For | 7 |
| 5 | Goals Against | 13 |
|
WW
|
EFL Cup |
W
|