Match Preview
Fulham vrs Crystal Palace
League Cup Round 04 26/27 at Craven Cottage
Wednesday 28th October 2026, KO: 19:45
Referee:
Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)
Live on Sky Sports+
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Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa was among the early contenders to become the first Premier League manager to be sacked following a difficult start to life as Fulham boss, but one defeat in his last six matches in all competitions (W3 D2), including back-to-back league victories, has lifted the spirits at Craven Cottage.
The West London club began the 2026-27 campaign without a win in six top-flight fixtures, but they have since claimed morale-boosting 1-0 victories over newly-promoted duo Hull City and Coventry City, with Oscar Bobb netting an 80th-minute winner to secure maximum points at the CBS Arena last weekend.
Sitting 15th in the Premier League table and above the likes of Manchester United, Fulham were also triumphant in the third round of the EFL Cup last month, as they secured a 3-2 away victory over West Ham United. Bobb also scored the winner in this five-goal thriller after first-half strikes from Rodrigo Muniz and Cesar Palacios.
Before travelling to Aston Villa in the top flight on Saturday, Fulham will endeavour to progress beyond the EFL Cup fourth round for the third time in four seasons when they take on Crystal Palace this week; they were knocked out by Newcastle in the quarter-finals last year while they reached the semi-finals in 2023-24.
Fulham will be wary of their recent record against Palace, though, as they have lost four of their last five head-to-head battles with the Eagles (D1), most recently losing 3-2 at home in the Premier League just over seven weeks ago.
Just four months after succeeding Oliver Glasner as Crystal Palace head coach, Pierre Sage is seemingly hanging onto his job by the thinnest of threads after a fifth Premier League defeat in eight games has left the Eagles down in 17th place in the table.
Sage and his Palace players were booed off by the Selhurst Park faithful following another underwhelming performance in a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle on Sunday, with this result coming a week after their humbling 5-0 loss at M23 rivals Brighton.
At a time when reports of a new frontrunner being in contention to replace Sage have emerged, the Frenchman has insisted that the noise around his position is “normal” and believes he still has faith from the players and club’s hierarchy to turn their fortunes around quickly.
A tricky run of fixtures against Tottenham, Hoffenheim (Europa League) and Liverpool are on the horizon for Palace, but they must first turn their attention to a favourable midweek trip to Craven Cottage where they have not lost any of their last nine visits in all competitions (W6 D3), winning each of their last four by an aggregate score of 10-3.
The 2025 FA Cup winners, who beat Middlesbrough 3-0 in the EFL Cup third round last month, are bidding to progress beyond the fourth round for the third consecutive season, having previously fallen at this stage or earlier for 12 years in a row.
However, defensive concerns remain a key issue for Palace, who have conceded 24 goals in all competitions this season, including a Premier League-high 19 goals. They have also shipped a total of 50 goals in 2026, the most of any team in the division and already six more than they conceded in the whole of last year (44).
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This is the first League Cup meeting between Fulham and Crystal Palace since the second round in 1966-67, won 2-0 by the Cottagers.
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Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last nine away games against Fulham in all competitions (W6 D3), winning each of their last four in a row.
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Fulham are looking to reach the League Cup quarter-finals for the third time in the last four seasons (2023-24 and 2025-26) and in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1999-00 and 2000-01.
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Fulham are unbeaten in their last eight home League Cup matches (W5 D3), conceding just three goals. Their last three at home against Premier League sides have all been draws, however: 0-0 vs Leeds in September 2021 (lost 6-5 on pens), 1-1 vs Spurs in August 2023 (won 5-3 on pens) and 1-1 vs Liverpool in January 2024 (semi-final second leg, lost on aggregate).
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Crystal Palace could reach the League Cup quarter-finals in three consecutive seasons for the first time in their history. They've beaten Premier League teams away in the fourth round in both 2024-25 (2-1 v Aston Villa) and 2025-26 (3-0 v Liverpool).
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Jørgen Strand Larsen has been involved in seven goals in his last two domestic cup appearances – he scored a hat-trick and got an assist for Wolves against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup third round in January, while he scored two and assisted one in the League Cup third round this season for Crystal Palace against Middlesbrough.
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Source Oliver Thomas at SportsMole/EFL .com