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Aston Villa embark on a trip to the south coast later this evening as they face fellow Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.
Dean Smith’s side thrashed Crewe Alexandra 6-1 in the last round, but head into this match on the back of their own defeat after Arsenal mounted a stunning comeback on Sunday afternoon despite playing the best part of 50 minutes with ten men.
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It is likely that several of Villa’s key stars are rested for this tie with their peripheral figures coming in to deputise, maybe alongside some youth prospects too.
Villa must ensure they take this competition seriously as they were actually the first club to win the League Cup in 1961 and have since won it on four more occasions – the last in 1996.
It could be the club’s only genuine chance of silverware in the immediate future, so here’s the XI we expect Smith to start with:
Only Anwar El Ghazi keeps his place from Sunday’s defeat as the bulk of the squad receives a rest ahead of this weekend.
He could partner young striker Keinan Davis and Jota in attack with the 28-year-old being given a chance to prove his worth to Smith – the former Birmingham City man has been poor so far this season averaging a rating of just 6.48.
Behind them should be Henri Lansbury and Conor Hourihane, who have both struggled for game time in the Premier League. They have played just 115 minutes combined but did play in the last round of this tournament.
Douglas Luiz is likely to return to the starting lineup as Marvelous Nakamba has replaced the £15m man in recent matches.
Another summer arrival in Matt Target should be fit enough to start just his second game for the club while centre-back duo Ezri Konsa and Kourtney Hause are likely to again feature in this competition as they require vital minutes incase any injuries arise this season.