Leeds United will be looking to advance to the fourth round of the EFL Cup when they travel to Craven Cottage on Tuesday evening to take on Championship outfit Fulham.
The visitors are still waiting for their first win of the 2021-22 Premier League season, but Fulham are second in the Championship table, having picked up 16 points from their opening eight fixtures.
Match preview
Looking to secure an immediate return to the Premier League, Fulham have made an encouraging start to their Championship campaign, collecting 16 points from eight matches, which has left them second in the table, two points behind leaders Bournemouth on the same number of games.
Fulham will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Reading on Saturday, though, and they have only won one of their last three in the league despite occupying second spot in the division.
In terms of the EFL Cup, Marco Silva's side secured their position in the third round of the competition courtesy of a 2-0 success at Birmingham City on August 24, with Jay Stansfield and Antonee Robinson scoring the goals for what was a largely second-string side.
Fulham have never won the League Cup and in truth, it is not a priority competition for the club this term, with the Cottagers determined to secure an automatic return to the top flight of English football.
The London club have also lost each of their last three matches against Leeds in all competitions, including defeats in their two Premier League meetings during the 2020-21 campaign.
Leeds, meanwhile, booked their spot in this stage of the EFL Cup courtesy of a 3-0 home success over Crewe Alexandra, with Kalvin Phillips and Jack Harrison (two) on the scoresheet at Elland Road.
The Whites are still waiting for their first win of the 2021-22 Premier League season, though, having lost two and drawn three of their opening five matches, including a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United on Friday.
A total of three points has left Marcelo Bielsa's side in 17th position in the table, and they now have two huge home matches against West Ham United and Watford at Elland Road to come.
Like Fulham, Leeds will not view the EFL Cup as a priority, but they have previous experience when it comes to this competition, winning the 1967-68 trophy and also finishing as runners-up in 1995-96.
The Whites, as mentioned, have a strong recent record against Fulham - winning the last three encounters - but they lost back-to-back matches at Craven Cottage in the Championship in 2018 and 2019 and will certainly be aware of the size of the task facing them in the English capital.
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Team News
Fulham will again be without the services of Fabio Carvalho, Terence Kongolo, Tom Cairney and Kenny Tete on Tuesday night through injury.
Head coach Silva will ring the changes from the side that started against Reading in the Championship, with Michael Hector, Alfie Mawson, Marek Rodak and Neeskens Kebano in line to start against Leeds.
Stansfield, as mentioned, was on the scoresheet in the last round of the competition against Birmingham, and the 18-year-old could be given another chance to lead the line, with Aleksandar Mitrovic on the bench.
As for Leeds, Robin Koch, Diego Llorente and Harrison will miss out through injury, while Luke Ayling and Raphinha are unlikely to be involved, having picked up problems against Newcastle.
Pascal Struijk will serve the second of his three-match suspension, but the Whites should be boosted by the return of Adam Forshaw, with the experienced midfielder set for a rare start.
Bielsa will make changes from the side that started against Newcastle, with 19-year-old Crysencio Summerville in line for a start, while Jamie Shackleton could feature at right-back.
Stuart Dallas could be pressed into action in the middle of the defence if Ayling cannot recover from his knock, while Phillips, Tyler Roberts and Daniel James are all in line for starts.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Odoi, Hector, Mawson; Knockaert, Pajaziti, Francois, Bryan; Reid, Stansfield, Kebano
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Shackleton, Dallas, Cooper, Firpo; Forshaw, Phillips; Summerville, Roberts, James; Rodrigo
We say: Fulham 1-2 Leeds United
Leeds are still waiting for their first league win of the season, but they were impressive in the previous round against Crewe, and we fancy the Whites to emerge victorious on Tuesday evening, with Bielsa expected to name a stronger lineup than Silva.
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