THE PREMIER League’s big guns are set to make their League Cup season debut in this week’s third-round action.
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has indicated he will make wholesale changes against Aston Villa tonight, though Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli are likely to lead the line.
Meanwhile, Villa defender Joe Bennett is grateful for an early opportunity to make amends for Saturday’s 4-1 drubbing by Southampton.
“We have the cup game at Manchester City. It’s good to get a game so quickly to put things right. We want to learn from what’s happened and move on quickly,” he said.
Former City midfielder Stephen Ireland is a doubt for the game. He suffered a suspected broken arm in Villa’s defeat at St Mary’s.
Chelsea and Wolves have also indicated they will make sweeping changes for their meeting at Stamford Bridge.
“The team I’m putting out can do exactly the same as the team I could have put out – they are hungry and waiting for their chance,” Wolves boss Stale Solbakken said.
Leeds United manager Neil Warnock insists his players will meet Everton at Elland Road unburdened by heavy expectations.
“There’s no pressure on us in this competition because everybody will expect Everton to win, so we can go out and enjoy it,” Warnock said.
“Everton are very high on my list of potential favourites to win this competition. Teams like Everton and Newcastle have got a great chance of winning it this year, so they will have a very strong side out. But we can give most Premier League teams a run for their money.”
Striker Nikica Jelavic has recovered from a shin injury and returns to the squad. Defender Tony Hibbert (calf) and Darron Gibson (thigh) are still absent, although the former is expected to have recovered in time for the weekend’s visit of Southampton.
Manager David Moyes is expected to make a couple of changes but he plans to put out a strong side and defender Sylvain Distin could return having been rested at the weekend.
Michael Laudrup wants his Swansea side to quickly return to winning ways when they travel to League One Crawley.
Swansea head to the Broadfield Stadium on the back of consecutive Premier League defeats to Aston Villa and Everton.
“We want to get that winning feeling back because you go from everything being perfect by winning two games and getting a draw where we played very well, and then suddenly you lose two games. You have to be careful this run does not extend,” Laudrup said.
“We don’t want to lose three games and then it’s four games since we last won.
“Football turns quickly and that’s why we need to get back on the winning track as soon as possible.”
