Fulham will be bidding to reach the third round of the EFL Cup when they make the trip to League Two outfit Crawley Town on Tuesday night.
The visitors will enter the match off the back of a 3-2 win over Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday, while Crawley suffered a 2-0 home defeat to AFC Wimbledon in League Two on the same afternoon.
Match preview
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Crawley finished 12th in League Two last season, 16 points off the playoff positions, so they are once again operating in the fourth tier of English football, and it has been a tough start to the 2022-23 campaign.
The Red Devils have only picked up a single point from their opening five matches of the season, which has left them down in 23rd position in the table.
Crawley lost 1-0 to both Carlisle United and Leyton Orient in their opening two games of the league campaign before playing out a goalless draw with Harrogate Town on August 13.
Kevin Betsy's side have lost their last two against Northampton Town and AFC Wimbledon, which has left them inside the relegation zone, but they can take confidence from their clash with Bristol Rovers in the first round of the EFL Cup on August 9, recording a 1-0 victory at home to advance to the next round.
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Fulham, meanwhile, won the Championship last season to secure a return to the Premier League, and they have made an impressive start to the 2022-23 campaign, picking up five points from three matches to sit fourth in the table.
The Cottagers drew 2-2 with Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season before playing out a goalless draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers one week later; they were winners on Saturday, though, with Aleksandar Mitrovic's 90th-minute effort securing a 3-2 success over Brentford.
Marco Silva's side have shown plenty of positive signs in the early stages of the season, as they bid to consolidate at this level, and they have a huge game away at London rivals Arsenal on Saturday.
Fulham have never won the League Cup, with their best run in a major cup competition coming in 1975, when they reached reached the final of the FA Cup, suffering a 2-0 defeat to West Ham United.
The Whites have won three of their last five matches in the EFL Cup, though, and were only beaten by Leeds United in the third round of last season's competition on penalties.
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Team News
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Crawley have not reported any fresh injury concerns from their 2-0 loss to AFC Wimbledon in the league on Saturday, but Tony Craig is suspended following his red card in the fourth-tier fixture.
Craig's absence could open the door for Ben Wells to start at the back, but Betsy is expected to send a relatively strong XI onto the field for this match.
Ashley Nadesan is again likely to lead the line for the League Two side, while there should also be spots in the side for the likes of Tom Nichols and Jakob Hassenthaler.
As for Fulham, Harry Wilson, Joe Bryan, Manor Solomon and Neeskens Kebano will again be on the sidelines through injury.
Head coach Silva will make a number of changes to the side that started against Brentford in the league on Saturday, with Tom Cairney, Nathaniel Chalobah and Marek Rodak among those expected to be in the XI.
New signings Kevin Mbabu, Shane Duffy and Issa Diop are also likely to feature from the first whistle, while Terry Ablade could be given a start in the final third of the field.
Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Addai; Francillette, Conroy, Wells; Francomb, Hassenthaler, Powell, Ogungbo; Appiah, Nadesan, Nichols
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Mbabu, Diop, Duffy, Robinson; Chalobah, Francois; Reid, Cairney, Ablade; Stansfield
We say: Crawley Town 0-2 Fulham
Fulham will not be at full strength on Tuesday evening, but we are finding it very difficult to predict anything other than an away victory. Crawley are short of confidence, but Fulham are flying after a strong start to their Premier League campaign, and the Cottagers should be too strong for their opponents here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
