Crystal Palace v Middlesbrough prediction: EFL Cup round of 32 preview, lineups & tips

A place in the last 16 of the EFL Cup is the prize at Selhurst Park, with Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough both looking to extend a run that neither club would want to treat as a formality. For Palace, a Premier League side, the competition offers a route to silverware that sits well below their league priorities but still carries value given the club's recent European involvement has thinned their fixture list elsewhere. For Middlesbrough, sitting in the Championship, progress here offers a rare shot at a Premier League scalp and a financial bonus from a longer run, with the club having already cleared two rounds without conceding more than once in a game.

Middlesbrough's route to this stage has been efficient rather than eventful. The supplied form data shows two wins from two EFL Cup outings, a 3-1 away success at Doncaster and a 1-0 home win over Wrexham, with the club averaging 2.0 goals scored and just 0.5 conceded per game across that run. One clean sheet from two matches, allied to an average of 18.5 shots per game, points to a side that has controlled both ties rather than edged them.

Crystal Palace's involvement in this season's competition has followed the standard route for a top-flight club without European football to juggle, entering later in the schedule than Middlesbrough. Specific match detail from Palace's earlier round has not been circulated with the same statistical depth as Middlesbrough's run, though qualification for the round of 32 confirms a side that has already navigated at least one knockout hurdle this season.

Cup ties at this stage of the season tend to bring changes, and this fixture is unlikely to be an exception. Palace's Premier League commitments either side of the international break make wholesale changes plausible, with fringe players and academy graduates in line for minutes. Middlesbrough, whose Championship campaign runs on a Saturday-Tuesday cycle familiar to second-tier clubs, may also freshen things up, though a club chasing a first Premier League scalp in this competition could be tempted to field a stronger XI than the raw squad depth might suggest.

Kick-off at Selhurst Park is set for 19:45 BST on Tuesday 8 September 2026. Sky Sports and ITV hold the EFL Cup's UK broadcast rights this season, with coverage typically shown on Sky Sports where selected for a fixture of this profile. If the scores are level after 90 minutes, EFL Cup rules mean the tie goes straight to penalties at this stage of the competition, with no period of extra time played.