Plymouth Argyle vs Crystal Palace

Home Park forms the backdrop for the League Cup second-round tie between second-tier Plymouth Argyle and top-flight strugglers Crystal Palace.

Plymouth’s start to the 2023/24 season couldn’t have started any better, with back-to-back two-goal margin wins inspiring confidence in the ‘Pilgrims’ camp over a potential promotion fight. After a 3-1 home win against Huddersfield Town in their Championship curtain-raiser, Steven Schumacher’s side netted two unanswered first-half goals to oust Leyton Orient 2-0 in the opening League Cup round. However, they have since suffered a noticeable dip in form, going winless in their last three league outings (D1, L2), including a brace of identical 2-1 defeats in the build-up to this fixture. With five of the six goals scored/conceded in those losses coming after the break, the Home Park crowd could be in for a second-half treat.

On the other hand, Crystal Palace’s 2023/24 Premier League campaign was off to a winning start, with Roy Hodgson’s side overcoming newly-promoted Sheffield United 1-0 on the opening weekend. But they’ve since lost their footing, going winless in two consecutive top-flight outings (D1, L1), both of which saw them fail to get on the scoresheet in the first half and concede the opening goal. After netting an average of only 0.66 goals per game in their first three Premier League matches, the ‘Eagles’ will be keen to improve their attacking output against a Plymouth side they’ve not lost to in their last three H2Hs (W2, D1). But that run means next to nothing, considering their most recent duel dates back to 2010.