Fulham and Everton return to Premier League action eager to put their midweek woes behind them.
Cottagers and Toffees aim to bounce back from Carling Cup exits
Fulham and Everton return to Premier League action eager to put their midweek woes behind them.
Fulham suffered a nightmare trip to Stoke in the Carling Cup on Tuesday as Mark Hughes named a full-strength side yet they still bowed out after a 2-0 defeat.
Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer struggled under high balls into the box, just as he did during last week's 1-1 draw at Blackburn.
But worst of all for Hughes was that Moussa Dembele joined star striker Bobby Zamora on the sidelines after a reckless challenge by Stoke's Andy Wilkinson in stoppage time.
Dembele had just found his form since his summer move from AZ Alkmaar, scoring both goals in the 2-1 win over Wolves two weeks ago, and although there is no break, the Belgium international has suffered ankle ligament damage.
However, as Fulham return to Craven Cottage, Hughes will be encouraged by the fact they are the only team outside the top three still unbeaten in the Premier League.
Everton, meanwhile, were one of several big names to bow out of the third round as they were knocked out by League One Brentford on penalties.
It was 1-1 after extra-time before Jermaine Beckford and Phil Jagielka missed in the shoot-out and they will be keen to make amends as the Toffees aim to kick-start their season. Beckford, in particular, has much to prove as he has shown little sign yet of reproducing the prolific form that earned him a summer switch from Leeds.
The Toffees showed great spirit to fight back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 against Manchester United two weeks ago but they failed to build on that by losing 1-0 at home to Newcastle last week, leaving them second bottom and still searching for their first league win of the season.
And the omens are not good for Everton as they have lost both their previous away games 1-0 - at Blackburn and Aston Villa - and the home side has won in 17 of their 18 Premier League meetings with Fulham.
Team news
Dembele will be out for two to three weeks with the ankle injury he suffered at Stoke and joins fellow striker Zamora (broken leg) in the treatment room.
Although Andy Johnson (knee) and Diomansy Kamara (foot) are back in training, they are unavailable for selection against Everton.
Hughes will therefore choose between Clint Dempsey, Zoltan Gera and Eddie Johnson to start up front while Damien Duff (calf) is expected to return after missing the midweek defeat at Stoke.
Everton have doubts over midfielder pair Tim Cahill and Leon Osman, with Cahill rated 50-50 after two games out with a knee problem while Osman suffered a rib injury at Brentford in midweek.
Full-back Tony Hibbert is also unlikely to feature at Craven Cottage due to a groin strain.
Forwards Louis Saha (calf) and Victor Anichebe (knee) both remain on the sidelines while Jack Rodwell (ankle) is out long term.
Possible starting XIs:
Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hangeland, Hughes, Salcido, Davies, Etuhu, Murphy, Duff, Dempsey, Gera.
Everton: Howard, Heitinga, Distin, Jagielka, Baines, Neville, Fellaini, Arteta, Pienaar, Bilyaletdinov, Beckford.
