Fulham vs Leeds - EFL Carabao Cup

Fulham host Leeds in the EFL Carabao Cup at 2:45 EDT today (Tuesday). The game will be available on ESPN+ (in English OR Spanish!)

Due to a number of injuries, both teams are likely to field squads that aren't the best that they could put out. Leeds put out a strong lineup in their first EFL Cup match, but this time they will be without Bamford, Ayling, and Harrison (who scored twice and had one assist against Crewe Alexandria). Meanwhile Fulham will be without Reed and Muniz for certain on top of the other persistent injuries that have been dogging Fulham these opening weeks.

Leeds' only win of the season came against Crewe. They have three draws and two losses in the Premier League. Two of the draws came against two of the three teams currently below them in the table - Newcastle and Burnley.

It is unclear who will have the advantage, but regardless of who is on the pitch a Silva vs. Bielsa match should be entertaining.

 

I think we’ll see Rodak and pretty much the same 11 that started the first cup match. Bielsa’s suddenly under a bit of pressure, but I doubt that will affect his approach to a non league tilt. They’ll still be looking to get somewhat well against a lower division side. Could make for an interesting match…or a deadly dull one, should Leeds decide to park the bus.

 

Gazzaniga is doing well. Our problems are mainly on the other side of the field; suddenly just like last season. Hoping Silva sits Cavaleiro for a stretch, including this match. Kebano is more dangerous.

In training, all attacking players, please do finishing drills for half the time every day.

Let some kids play today. I'd like to see: Rodak, S. Sess, Fossey, Hector, Mawson, Francois, Pajaziti, Onomah, Kebano, Reid, Stansfield. I could be talked into giving a U18 like Olakigbe or Works a shot at a wing. We likely lose, but that could be a good thing. Too many games cause stress injuries. Eyes on the primary prize: promotion.

**Edit 2:02pm** Surprised to see Reed and Muniz in the 11. Thought they were both out hurt. This is good news. Silva may also be trying to rehabilitate Christie and Knockaert.

 

What a mess of a match. We started out pretty well, but once things settled I never thought we’d win. And yet we were in position to win it. I truly don’t understand the thinking toward these Cup matches. If they’re not important enough to put your best team out there, what’s the point.
I’m thinking of suggesting to Mackintosh, or whomever at the club, to come up with a player job application that begins “How many penalties have you taken and made since you began playing soccer?” If those numbers are acceptable, then we can continue considering them for employment.

 

I keep waiting for better highlights to come from ESPN, but these are all we have now (and they skip most the PK's):


In case you were wondering about the PK's - On the first shot Onomah was inches from an unstoppable shot in the upper right corner, but instead he bounced it off the corner of the goal. Rodak nearly answered with a save of Rodrigo's shot, but it powered through his hands. Leeds made all of their shots until the Rodak saved the fourth. Joe Bryan stepped up with a chance to even the PK's, but skied it over the net, possibly rolling all the way to Hammersmith Station. Leeds' Forshaw could have won it there with the fifth shot, but he sent his ball on an almost identical trajectory over the net. Fulham converted to send it to sudden death. Mawson and DeCordova-Reid converted, but Meslier saved Muniz's tame shot to win the match. It was the only save Meslier made in the eight PK shots he faced.

I agree with the assessment of @jumpkutz about the match - it felt like they could have won, but it never really seemed like it would happen.

When they got to PKs I wondered why Bobby DeCordova-Reid and Muniz weren't in the opening 5 to shoot - Fulham lined up with Onomah, Cavaleiro, Kebano, Bryan, and Hector. Well Muniz showed why. In fact, he had a number of good chances on the night and couldn't get the job done. He did good work to get open looks, but his inability to finish at all made it a very disappointing performance from him.

I thought that Mawson played well and showed he's worthy of starting if Tim Ream should not be available. I also appreciated having Kebano out there. His ability on free kicks is a great option to have and he was the only Fulham player that didn't make me nervous from the spot. I thought Christie did okay too. Maybe he should get a run out over Odoi. I also wouldn't object to having Rodak in net.

On the other side Knockaert was pretty poor. He was a liability out there and couldn't come off soon enough, I just wish Stansfield had replaced him rather than Cavaleiro. Hector didn't look good either. His decision making playing up from the back was a particular weakness.

The worst part of the night (besides the always irritating Leeds fans) was Reed coming off early with a leg problem - I would gladly take a loss in the cup if it meant Reed would come out healthy. And apparently you can't trust Fulham's own news feed since both Reed and Muniz started despite saying they wouldn't play.

 

Played well enough. Can't say we earned the W but we weren't far off. Thought we looked good enough defensively. Still hate PK's. Terrible way to end any competitive match. Now it's bed time.

 

Hope Reed is ok.
100% of focus on Bristol City.
That's all.

 

What a peculiar match. We basically put out our B team, Leeds their 1B-ish, and either team could have won it in regulation. But, also, penalties seemed destined?