Fulham seek Carabao Cup response against struggling Crystal Palace

Fulham host Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday, with Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi aiming to help avenge September’s 3-2 league defeat by the same opponents.

Marco Silva’s side head into the tie after consecutive 1-0 wins over Hull City and Coventry City. Those results have given Fulham eight points from eight games, while Palace arrive under pressure after two heavy league defeats.

Palace were beaten 5-0 by Brighton before suffering a 2-0 home loss to Newcastle United. The results have increased scrutiny on head coach Pierre Sage, who has seen his side concede seven goals across their past two league matches.

Contrasting form

Fulham followed their victory over Hull City with another narrow success at Coventry on Saturday. Oscar Bobb scored the decisive goal in the 80th minute, securing a second successive clean sheet.

Bassey completed the full 90 minutes in that match. He was also involved in an incident during first-half stoppage time when a VAR review considered a possible penalty, but no spot-kick was awarded against the Fulham defender.

Palace’s defeat by Newcastle was settled by two second-half goals. Will Osula put the visitors ahead in the 47th minute, before Harvey Barnes doubled the advantage in the 58th. That loss followed the 5-0 defeat by Brighton the previous week.

September meeting

The clubs last met at Craven Cottage on 5 September, when Palace won 3-2.

Tyrick Mitchell scored twice for the visitors, while Ben Chilwell’s 75th-minute goal proved decisive. Fulham’s goals came from Josh King and Cesar Palacios.

The result was Fulham’s third consecutive league defeat at the beginning of the season and gave Palace their first victory of the campaign.

Bassey and Iwobi were both on the losing side that day, but have since helped Fulham record two league wins. Bassey’s recent full-match appearance came at Coventry, while Iwobi was replaced in the 74th minute after making his 328th Premier League appearance, as Soccernet reported on Wednesday.

Palace threat remains

Recent results make Fulham the form side. Their two latest league matches have produced clean sheets, while Palace have conceded seven times in their last two games.

However, Palace have already scored three goals at Craven Cottage this season, meaning Fulham cannot assume another shutout. The September meeting also demonstrated that the visitors can pose a significant attacking threat in this fixture.

Although cup ties do not always follow league form, Fulham’s home advantage and their recent defensive improvement point towards a home victory. Palace’s previous performance at the ground suggests they may still score, despite their difficult run.