Premier League club Crystal Palace welcome Ipswich Town to Selhurst Park on Tuesday evening, with a place in the third round of the EFL Cup up for grabs.
Crystal Palace Team News
South Londoners Crystal Palace have struggled at the start of the new football season, suffering defeats in both of their opening two Premier League matches under new boss Frank de Boer. Palace are one of the few top-flight teams who have not invested heavily in their playing squad over the summer, with de Boer undoubtedly keen to make his mark in English football, following a disappointing spell with Inter Milan. The Dutch legend is likely to make significant changes to his side following their narrow defeat against Liverpool, with the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Martin Kelly and Jeffrey Schlupp expected to line-up against Ipswich. The Eagles previous home game this season ended in a 3-0 defeat to Premier League new boys Huddersfield, making this an even more important fixture for the home side.
Ipswich Team News
Ipswich are one of just two Championship teams to win their opening four matches, with Mick McCarthy having inspired his team to a great start. A 2-0 victory over Brentford last time around will have left supporters at Portman road happy, with new signing Martyn Waghorn having hit the ground running following his arrival from Scottish side Rangers. With the likes of Joe Garner, Freddie Sears and David McGoldrick filling up the attacking positions for Ipswich, they are now a team always in with a chance of finding the back of the net. However, manager McCarthy may well look to switch things up at Selhurt Park on Tuesday, with the likes of Luke Woolfenden and Adam McDonnell looking for rare starts.
Head to Head
The two teams last met back in 2013, when Ipswich earned a 3-0 win over Palace at Portman Road. However, in the same season, they also suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat at Selhurst Park, a scoreline that they will be looking to avoid this time around. Ipswich have a better record over Palace over history, winning on 32 occasions, whilst only suffering 26 defeats at the hands of their rivals.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Despite their poor start to the season, Crystal Palace are the favourites for victory with the majority of online bookmakers. For those looking to back the Eagles to defeat Ipswich on Tuesday, best odds of 2/5 can be found at Ber365. Similarly, you can get odds of 1/4 with the same bookmaker for Palace to qualify for the next round, meaning that they can win in 90 minutes, extra time, or even penalties.
However, for those punters predicting a fifth straight victory for Ipswich at the start of the season, SkyBet are offering Mick McCarthy’s men odds of 8/1 to overcome the Premier League side. Elsewhere, the first goalscorer market is one that many football fans enjoy taking advantage of, with Christian Benteke backed at 3/1 with Ladbrokes, while Martyn Waghorn can be found at 11/1.
Top Betting Tip
Our top betting tip for the encounter between Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town on Tuesday is to back their being under 2.5 goals, which can be found at best odds of 43/40 at Ladbrokes.