Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday meet in the EFL Cup third round on Wednesday evening having endured contrasting starts to the season.
While the Cottagers have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, the Owls have a win and a draw to their name in the Championship.
Match preview
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With two defeats having been suffered in the Premier League, Scott Parker would be forgiven for feeling downbeat about his side's current efforts since promotion from the Championship.
Seven goals have been conceded during those matches, four of which came during a thrilling game against fellow top-flight newcomers Leeds United.
However, at a time when fresh faces continue to arrive at Craven Cottage, Parker will put the results against two opponents on a high into some context.
Having previously insisted that Fulham will not make significant moves in the transfer market, the boss of the West London outfit must now reduce a squad which has already welcomed seven first-team additions, two of which were on loan at the club last season.
Backup for Aleksandar Mitrovic will also be on Parker's list of priorities ahead of several fixtures against teams who could become relegation rivals later in the campaign.
While Fulham have looked anything but secure in defence, the same cannot be said of their next opponents after four clean sheets were recorded in succession.
In shutting out Cardiff City and Fulham, the Owls have managed to get four points on the board in the Championship, leaving them on minus eight points as a result of their recent punishment.
Garry Monk will be delighted with the development of a team which saw top goalscorer Steven Fletcher leave in the summer and is still waiting for new addition Cheyenne Dunkley to make his debut.
Progression in the EFL Cup is at the bottom of their list of priorities, but Monk will be keen to maintain the momentum which has been generated since the beginning of the season.
Fulham EFL Cup form: W
Fulham form (all competitions): LWL
Sheffield Wednesday EFL Cup form: DW
Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions): DWWD
Team News
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Parker's much-changed starting XI could see Aboubakar Kamara take the place of Mitrovic down the middle of the attack.
Marek Rodak, Mario Lemina, Tom Cairney and Anthony Knockaert should be among the players who come into the team.
Monk is also expected to make mass changes to his side, leaving him to find a suitable formation for his chosen players.
A 3-5-1-1 may be on the cards, with Adam Reach playing behind recent arrival Elias Kachunga in attack.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Christie, Ream, Marchand, Robinson; Lemina, Cairney; Knockaert, Cordova-Reid, Kebano; Kamara
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Shaw, Brennan, Borner; Palmer, Hunt, Pelupessy, Dele-Bashiru, Odubajo; Reach; Kachunga
We say: Fulham 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
With Fulham likely to make mass changes, they are up against it to breach a resolute Wednesday backline. However, the home side should still have enough quality in their ranks to get the better of their defensively-strong opponents.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:curl
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Fulham win with a probability of 38.37%. A win for Sheffield Wednesday had a probability of 35.98% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fulham win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.45%) and 2-0 (6.31%). The likeliest Sheffield Wednesday win was 0-1 (8.74%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.15%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 6.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Fulham would win this match.
