Swansea City vs Crystal Palace Predictions

Can Crystal Palace respond to their weekend defeat by making strides in the EFL Cup? The Eagles head in to Tuesday night’s clash with Swansea looking to make up for a defeat at Watford on Sunday, but they have a quick chance to turn their fortunes around. Meanwhile, Swansea have a poor result to respond to, while they’ll want to test themselves against top flight opposition once more. Will the 2013 League Cup winners pull off an upset this week, or can Roy Hodgson’s side enjoy a cup run this season?

Swansea are trying to get back on track after suffering their first league defeat of the season on Saturday. The Swans went down 1-0 to Bristol City at the Liberty, but they’ve now failed to win their last three games. They’ve made a solid return to the Championship, but this summer has been busy in terms of departures for the Welsh side. They’re not pleased with the quality leaving, or the failure to replace them. That approach in the market will always lead to problems down the line; are Swansea’s just beginning?

Palace have lost back to back league games after starting with a win, which isn’t ideal form ahead of this clash. Last season Roy Hodgson won one and lost one as Palace boss in this competition, but he’ll be aiming for better this time around. With a few smart additions, the Eagles are looking nailed on to stay up, and they could be dark horses in the cups.

However, Hodgson will know this is a tricky trip. It’s not been a happy hunting ground for Palace over the years, with the last six meetings here finishing with the Swans avoiding defeat. Their recent encounters do suggest goals, with the last five meetings seeing both teams score. That includes the infamous 5-4 game here in 2016, when neither side looked capable of defending even the most straightforward crosses, yet they both stayed up.

Palace haven’t exactly looked solid in their last two games, losing 4-1 across their last  outings. We expect the Swans to take advantage. They’ve only failed to score in two of their last 11 home matches in this competition – against Man United and Chelsea. The Eagles look vulnerable at the back, but they should score against Championship opposition. We’re backing both teams to score in this clash as our main tip. We’re also going for a 1-1 final score, which has landed in four of the last five meetings between these two at the Liberty.