Watford vs Crystal Palace prediction, preview, team news and more

Watford and Crystal Palace will be looking to progress into the third round of the EFL Cup when they go toe-to-toe at the Vicarage Road Stadium on Tuesday.

The hosts head into the game following a 2-0 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion, while the visitors played out a goalless draw against Brentford.

Watford kicked off their 2021-22 Premier League campaign in grand style when they claimed a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa two Saturdays ago.

However, they came crashing back down to earth last time out as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion.

In that encounter, Shane Duffy and Neal Maupay hit first-half goals to hand Brighton their second consecutive Premier League victory.

Last season, Watford suffered a disappointing third-round exit from the EFL Cup after losing 3-1 against lower tier Newport County.

While they will look to bounce back to winning ways, they take on an opposing side who are unbeaten in their last three meetings.

Crystal Palace, on the other hand, were denied their first league win of the season when they played out a 0-0 draw against newly promoted Brentford.

This followed a disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea in their opening game of the season.

Like their hosts, Crystal Palace suffered an early exit from the cup competition last season. They were knocked out on penalties by Bournemouth in the second round following a goalless draw during regular time.

New boss Patrick Vieira will hope his side can take the positives from Saturday’s solid display against Brentford to book their place in the third round.

Watford vs Crystal Palace Head-To-Head

Crystal Palace head into the game as the superior side in the history of this fixture, claiming 50 wins from their last 122 meetings across all competitions. Watford have won 44 games, while 28 games have ended in draws.

Watford Form Guide (all competitions): D-D-L-W-L

Crystal Palace Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-W-L-D

Watford vs Crystal Palace Team News

Watford

The Hornets will take to the game without Joao Pedro and newly signed forward Juraj Kucka, who have both been sidelined through injuries.

Injured: Joao Pedro, Juraj Kucka

Suspended: None

Crystal Palace

Defender Nathan Ferguson and attacker Eberechi Eze will both miss the game as they have been sidelined through injuries.

Injured: Nathan Ferguson, Eberechi Eze

Suspended: None

Watford vs Crystal Palace Predicted XI

Watford Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Daniel Bachmann; Craig Cathcart, William Troost-Ekong, Christian Kabasele, Adam Masina; Peter Etebo; Ismaila Sarr, Imran Louza, Tom Cleverley, Ken Sema; Emmanuel Dennis

Crystal Palace Predicted XI (4-4-2): Vicente Guaita; Joel Ward, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi, Tyrick Mitchell; Jordan Ayew, Jairo Riedewald, James McArthur, Jeffrey Schlupp; Christian Benteke, Jean-Philippe Mateta