Oxford United have an opportunity to advance into the third round of the EFL Cup for the first time since 2019-20 when they host Crystal Palace on Tuesday at Kassam Stadium.
For a third successive time, the U's won their opening match of this tournament on penalties, 5-3 over Swansea City, after the game finished 2-2, while the Eagles won their first Premier League fixture of the new season this past weekend, 3-1 over Aston Villa.
Match preview
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It has been a tale of two halves for Karl Robinson and his Oxford side through the early portion of the season, scoring all three of their goals domestically in the second half, while conceding once in the opening 45 minutes in two of their last three league fixtures.
Over the weekend, they answered the Morecambe opener from Jensen Weir within eight minutes, though they were left to rue several missed chances in the second half, as they had 10 efforts on target and 66% of the possession, but could only manage a 1-1 draw.
So far domestically, they have had plenty of the ball, gaining more than 50% in four of their five league fixtures but have not been able to do much with that, scoring a goal or fewer in each of those encounters.
Those early struggles have to be a disappointment for a side who were tied for the most goals scored (82) in League One last season, finishing eighth in the table.
In just one game at this competition, Oxford have already exceeded their goal output from 2021-22, scoring twice with less than 20 minutes remaining against Swansea, before holding their nerve in the shootout.
Two of their last three second-round affairs at this tournament have been decided in a penalty shootout, with Oxford failing to score from the spot against Watford in 2020-21, while they managed to squeak by Millwall 4-2 on penalties in 2019-20.
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After a slow start to the Premier League season, losing their opener 2-0 versus Arsenal, Crystal Palace have shown improvements, drawing the reigning Carabao Cup champions Liverpool 1-1 at Anfield and storming back with three unanswered goals to defeat Aston Villa on Saturday.
The second round of this competition has proven to be exceedingly difficult for the Eagles, who have been eliminated at this stage of the tournament on three successive occasions losing on penalties to Colchester United and Bournemouth, and then conceding an 86th-minute goal to Watford last season.
While still employing defensive solidity, Patrick Viera has turned this side into a more dynamic one in the attacking third, scoring 50 goals over the previous top-flight campaign, the most in a league season for them since 2018-19 (51).
Under the tenure of the former French midfielder, Palace have transformed from a side who were primarily a counter-attacking team with Roy Hodgson, into a team who have controlled the pace of a lot of their encounters, with over 50% of the possession in two of their three EPL games this season.
They are still heavily reliant on their number 11 striker, who has scored three of their four goals so far in the domestic campaign, but they have been playing with a lot more dynamism, while being more aggressive with Viera as a coach.
That being said, Palace proved to be a much more creative team last season as 16 different players set up a goal, an encouraging sign for a team looking to build off an impressive semi-final appearance in the FA Cup a season ago.
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Team News
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Second-half goals from Alex Rodriguez and Cameron Brannagan helped Oxford erase a two-goal deficit in their first-round fixture versus Swansea, allowing goalkeeper Edward McGinty to be the hero, as he stopped Matthew Sorinola in the shootout before Brannagan put home the winner.
Kyle Joseph picked up his first goal in an Oxford uniform this weekend, while Matty Taylor is still seeking his first of the new campaign after tallying 20 in 2021-22.
We saw three changes to their starting 11 on Saturday, with Ciaron Brown, James Henry and Joseph replacing Elliott Moore, Lewis Bate and Marcus Browne.
Wilfried Zaha has three goals in his last two league fixtures for Palace, notching a brace this weekend with the other tally coming from Jean-Philippe Mateta, while Odsonne Edouard and Tyrick Mitchell each had an assist.
Newcomer Chris Richards has come on as a substitute in their previous two EPL affairs, replacing Eberechi Eze in the second half on Saturday, Cheick Doucoure has started all three games for his new team in the domestic campaign, while Sam Johnstone has been on the bench for each of those encounters.
James McArthur is expected to miss this match with a groin strain, and Jack Butland will not be back until mid-September with a broken wrist.
James Tomkins has a muscle issue and a timetable for his return is unknown, while Nathan Ferguson is unlikely to be ready until the beginning of next month because of a foot injury.
Oxford United possible starting lineup:
McGinty; Golding, Moore, Brown, Seddon; Henry, Rodriguez, McGuane, Bate; Joseph, Taylor
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Clyne, Richards, Guehi, Mitchell; Hughes, Ebiowei, Eze; Ayew, Mateta, Edouard
We say: Oxford United 0-2 Crystal Palace
Oxford have proven they can hang around in these elimination games, but the Eagles have a few attackers of the highest quality, who Viera can bring on if need be to make the difference in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
