Fulham vs. Cambridge United - Carabao Cup 3rd Round

Fulham hosts Cambridge United from League Two in the third round of the Carabao Cup. Kickoff is Tuesday at 2:45 EDT on Paramount Plus.

One of the great things about Fulham's current squad is that it is relatively deep. We should have a chance to see some of our new signings finally and Silva can rotate the squad and still have a strong lineup. Silva said that Robinson might have a chance to play against Cambridge, but at this point who knows? I expect Diop and Cuenca to be the central pair in front of Lecomte, with Castagne as the right back. In the midfield I imagine Reed, Cairney, and Smith Rowe. Then we get to the interesting decisions. Will Kevin start? Will Chukwuese and Kusi-Asare get significant playing time or even a start? I'd love to see them start, but I imagine that only Kevin as a shot.

Fulham hasn't played Cambridge in a competitive match since 1997 when Fulham lost 1-0 in League Two and only have 2 wins from seven against United (1D 4L). Fulham should make a dent in that difference on Tuesday, but you never know - three Premiere League teams have already been eliminated by lower league opponents this season in the League Cup.

 

In the first half Fulham had over 80% possession but zero shots on target, 4 shots total (same as Cambridge), and zero highlights. Thankfully they were more threatening in the second half with 6 shots on target out of 11, while Cambridge only managed 2 shots. Credit to Cambridge for sticking to their plan, I'll just be thankful it didn't go to a shootout like Preston.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, Kevin went off with an injury late in the second half. Something to keep an eye on.

 

Too slow, too static. It was like watching Sisyphus push the boulder uphill right up until the ball fell to ESR in the second half.

Kevin's shoulder injury looked painful. Hope it's nothing serious. Was happy to see Jedi get lots of minutes without any problems. We have two excellent left-footed CBs, and I feel for Cuenca--he would be starting for most teams.

I hoped throughout the first half that Silva would yank Traore early to make a point. He killed forward movements with his stepovers followed by backward passes. If Chukwueze has a halfway decent season, he'll take over Traore's place in the pecking order by Christmas.

Marco seems to have trouble motivating the team against clubs from lower divisions. I hope we get a Prem opponent in the next round, even if on paper it might be a more difficult match.

 

Fulham will make a short trip west of London to play the Wycombe Wanderers from League One in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. The final 8 will include a Welsh team since Wrexham and Cardiff play each other. Brentford gets the lowest remaining team, League Two's Grimsby Town.

 

Oh, how I would love for Grimsby's dream to continue