Stevenage and Fulham Under-21s square off on Tuesday night, with both teams already aware of whether they will feature in the EFL Trophy knockout stages.

While Stevenage sit top of Group B in the Southern section with successive wins and have secured their progress, the young Cottagers are already eliminated after back-to-back defeats.

Match preview

Having failed with a surprise bid for promotion in 2025-26, Alex Revell will be disappointed that his Stevenage outfit are down in 16th position in the League One table.

However, a 2-2 draw at Leicester City in their last third tier outing was followed by an outstanding 1-0 triumph at Oxford United in the FA Cup first round.

Carl Piergianni's fourth-minute goal earned Revell's side one of the most notable victories of the weekend, and it keeps them interested in two different cup competitions for the foreseeable future.

In the EFL Trophy, Stevenage have already thrashed Walsall by a 6-1 scoreline and edged out Leicester by the odd goal in three on home territory.

Stevenage now have five wins and one draw from their last eight matches in all competitions, with a further notable success over Plymouth Argyle included in that run.

Meanwhile, Fulham Under-21s have conceded nine goals in their defeats to Leicester and Walsall.

The Foxes cruised to a 6-1 win when welcoming the young Cottagers to the King Power Stadium, before the Saddlers came through by a 3-2 scoreline.

Fulham Under-21s also suffered defeat to Worthing in the National League Cup on November 3, further highlighting their struggles against senior opposition.

On a more positive note, they did register a 4-1 win at Stoke City in their last Premier League 2 fixture, leaving them in fourth spot behind Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.

Stevenage EFL Trophy form:

Stevenage form (all competitions):

Fulham Under-21s EFL Trophy form:

Fulham Under-21s form (all competitions):

Team News

Daniel Barden, Alfie Thornett, Terry Taylor, Matt Smith, Chem Campbell and Michael Mellon could all be drafted into the Stevenage XI.

Revell may also look to introduce at least one youngster into the starting lineup as he bids to rest as many senior players as possible.

Tommy Setford, Brian Broggio and Josh Magennis are all on international duty.

Barring any such selections, Fulham Under-21s may line up similar to the recent win over Stoke Under-21s.

In his first appearance of the season, Terrell Works scored a double, and the attacker should feature again after that 58-minute outing.

Stevenage possible starting lineup:

Barden; Vancooten, Casey, Thornett, Earley; Sanderson, Taylor, Smith, Campbell; Turhan, Mellon

Fulham Under-21s possible starting lineup:

Allen; Cooke, Gomins, Slade, White; Nwoko, Chingwaro; Zepa, Casey, Works, Sani

We say: Stevenage 3-1 Fulham Under-21s

With Stevenage likely to rotate as much as regulations allow, Fulham may feel that there is an opportunity for a win. However, the young Cottagers already conceding nine goals leads up to predict a relatively comfortable victory for the home side.

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