Fulham host Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on October 28 in the third round of the Carabao Cup. Kick-off is scheduled for 19:45 local time. Fulham arrive with two successive wins and a perfect record in this season’s competition, while Palace are looking to recover from a difficult run of results. Recent meetings add another dimension to the tie: Fulham have not won any of the last five head-to-head matches listed in the supplied results. With both sides averaging three goals scored per Carabao Cup game so far, this cup preview also has a strong focus on the goals market.

Fulham’s Recent Form and Key Stats

Fulham have won their last two matches after previously going two league games without a victory. Their latest result was a 1-0 away win over Coventry City on October 24. Across their last five fixtures, they have recorded three wins, one draw and one defeat, scoring an average of 1.4 goals per match and conceding 1.0. That recent record gives the hosts a more encouraging starting point than their opponents, even if their head-to-head results against Palace have been less convincing.

The Cottagers have won both of their Carabao Cup matches this season. They beat AFC Wimbledon 3-0 at home and West Ham United 3-2 away, leaving them with a competition average of 3.0 goals scored and 1.0 conceded per game. The two victories have taken different shapes: one came with a clean sheet, while the other required three goals in a much closer contest. Fulham have also scored at least once in each of their last 14 Carabao Cup matches, a notable attacking sequence as they prepare to face Palace.

Playing at Craven Cottage gives Fulham the chance to build on their recent winning streak, but this opponent has proved difficult for them in the results provided. The last five meetings show no Fulham wins, one draw and four defeats. Their task is therefore to carry their improved recent form into a fixture in which Palace have repeatedly found a way to avoid defeat.

Crystal Palace’s Recent Form and Key Stats

Crystal Palace were beaten 2-0 at home by Newcastle United on October 25. They are without a win in their last four matches, a sequence of three defeats and one draw. Looking across their last five games, Palace have one win, one draw and three losses. Their averages over that span are 1.4 goals scored and 2.6 conceded per match, making their recent defensive record a concern ahead of this trip.

Their Carabao Cup campaign has been more straightforward so far. Palace reached the third round with a 3-0 home victory over Middlesbrough, their only match in the competition this season. Last season, they advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Arsenal. Although that cup history offers context for their return to the third round, the immediate challenge is to respond to their current four-match winless run.

Palace’s longer-term cup results provide a clear goals trend: their last 10 Carabao Cup matches have all featured over 1.5 total goals. Each of those 10 games has also contained at least one second-half goal. Across all competitions, there has been a second-half goal in 20 of Palace’s last 21 matches, while 18 of their last 20 away fixtures have featured a first-half goal. Palace have, however, trailed at half-time in each of their last three away games, so those early-goal figures do not necessarily point to a strong start from the visitors.

Fulham vs Crystal Palace Match Analysis

Recent form favors Fulham, but the head-to-head record offers a counterweight. The most recent meeting finished 2-3 on September 5. Across the last five encounters, Fulham have averaged 1.0 goal scored and 2.2 conceded per match, with Palace taking four wins and one draw. Palace have also lost only once in nine competitive meetings with Fulham, according to the match context supplied for this preview.

There is a similarly strong record for Palace at this venue: they have won on four of their recent visits to Craven Cottage and have gone nine games there without defeat since their last loss in January 2005. That history makes the fixture less straightforward for Fulham than the teams’ latest results might suggest. At the same time, Palace’s recent concession rate leaves the visitors facing a Fulham side that has scored in 14 consecutive Carabao Cup appearances.

The goals evidence is especially relevant to this tie. Fulham’s two cup wins have produced six goals for and two against, while Palace scored three in their only cup outing this season. The latest head-to-head match produced five goals, and every one of Palace’s last 10 Carabao Cup fixtures has cleared the 1.5-goal mark. Those figures do not guarantee another open contest, but they give the prospect of multiple goals a firmer factual basis than either team’s recent results alone.

Fulham vs Crystal Palace prediction from BetMines: Over 2.5 goals with 61% probability.