Bidding to at least replicate last year's memorable run to the EFL Cup semi-finals, Fulham's latest knockout adventure begins with a second-round trip to Birmingham City on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, their League One hosts have already had to navigate their way past Charlton Athletic to set up a tie with Premier League opposition, as both endeavour to build on weekend wins.
Match preview
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Two goals that were made in Arsenal's Hale End academy, Fulham got off the Premier League mark for 2024-25 at the second time of asking on a wet and windy Saturday afternoon, where they survived a brief scare to send Leicester City packing.
After succumbing to a narrow loss to Manchester United in the season's inaugural match, Emile Smith Rowe's account-opener and Alex Iwobi's second either side of a Wout Faes header ensured that Fulham posted the points that their overall dominance warranted.
Sinking Steve Cooper's side saw Fulham snap a dismal five-game winless sequence in Premier League football, a chain of results that prevented them from escaping the obscurity of mid-table last season, although they could pat themselves on the back as far as the EFL Cup was concerned.
Indeed, Fulham - who are still searching for their maiden major honour excluding Championship and League One titles - progressed to the League Cup semis for the very first time in 2023-24 and put in a good shift over the 180 minutes against Liverpool, only to fall to a 3-2 aggregate loss.
As well as a potential assault on the European places in the Premier League, an inaugural piece of silverware is long overdue at Craven Cottage, but Birmingham already know what it takes to conquer the EFL Cup.
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No fewer than 13 years have passed since Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny's mix-up in the 2011 League Cup final, where Obafemi Martins pounced before whipping out his trademark acrobatic celebration as Birmingham pulled off a mighty Arsenal upset.
Two-time winners of the EFL Cup - also defeating local foes Aston Villa in a two-legged final in 1963 - Birmingham's more recent history in the competition has been much more modest; they have not been past the second round since coincidentally losing to Villa in the 2015-16 third round.
However, with former Tottenham Hotspur coach Chris Davies at the helm, the hosts have kicked off their quest for immediate promotion in near-faultless fashion, taking seven points from a possible nine against Reading, Wycombe Wanderers and Leyton Orient in League One.
Blues also overcame fellow third-tier side Charlton in the first round of the EFL Cup, but not without a couple of huge scares, having seen Ryan Allsop save a Tyreece Campbell penalty before Dion Sanderson's late red card for two bookable offences.
Nevertheless, Davies's 10 men dug deep at The Valley to earn a second-round date with Fulham, whom they have not squared up to since a chastening 6-2 Championship defeat in January 2022, which marked the Cottagers' fifth straight triumph in this fixture.
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Team News
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All of Fulham's troops came through Saturday's victory over Leicester unscathed, although new signing Sander Berge was not considered for his debut soon after his arrival from Burnley, and nor was defensive returnee Joachim Andersen.
Marco Silva confirmed that neither was ready for Premier League action in gameweek two, meaning that starts on Tuesday can also be considered unlikely, but the Cottagers have plentiful options for change anyway.
Goalkeeper Bernd Leno could enjoy a break as Steven Benda gets a run-out in goal, but Jay Stansfield - who scored 12 Championship goals for Birmingham on loan last season - will likely lose out to Raul Jimenez for an attacking start.
After Stansfield's successful spell last season, Birmingham have signed another Fulham man on a temporary basis in the shape of playmaker Luke Harris, although the 19-year-old is ineligible for the second round, as is Bristol City-owned Taylor Gardner-Hickman.
Sanderson has now served his red-card suspension, but the centre-back was missing from the win over Leyton Orient at the weekend due to an unspecified injury, which will sideline him for a few weeks.
With Sanderson out of contention, Christoph Klarer and Krystian Bielik paired up at the weekend and should also be tasked with keeping the Fulham attack quiet on Tuesday, where Lukas Jutkiewicz may return to lead the line.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Laird, Bielik, Klarer, Cochane; Leonard, Paik; Anderson, Willumsson, Hansson; Jutkiewicz
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Benda; Castagne, Cuenca, Bassey, Sessegnon; Reed, Cairney; Traore, Pereira, Iwobi; Jimenez
We say: Birmingham City 0-2 Fulham
Even though Birmingham have quickly developed a winning formula under Davies, they well and truly rode their luck against Charlton in round one and will face a serious step-up in quality here.
Blues should not be blown to smithereens by any stretch, but a place in the third-round draw surely belongs to the Cottagers.
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Ben Knapton
