Aston Villa face League One outfit Wycombe Wanderers in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night
Unai Emery will make changes to his side for Aston Villa’s Carabao Cup third round clash with Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park on Tuesday night (8pm).
Villa are looking to reach round four for the first time since 2020 against the Chairboys, who knocked out Championship side Swansea City in the second round. Emery’s side were knocked out by Everton last season, losing 2-1 at home to the Toffees.
They come into the cup tie in fine form having won four of their first five league games and also defeated BSC Young Boys in the Champions League last week. Wycombe, meanwhile, have made a decent start to their own campaign having won three of their six League One games and sit in eighth position, three points off third place.
Emery has already outlined that Villa’s priority is the Premier League, as that allows the club to qualify for European football again. That is the number one objective.
With that in mind, he will make changes to the side which defeated Wolves 3-1 at Villa Park on Saturday. Emi Martinez will likely be rested, giving Joe Gauci the chance to make his competitive debut for Villa.
He could play behind a defence made up of Kosta Nedeljkovic, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen. Lamare Bogarde is another option for Emery at right-back, but Nedeljkovic is yet to make a start this season.
Youngster Sil Swinkels could be considered, but Villa have limited options at centre-back while Tyrone Mings is not yet ready to return to the matchday squad. Maatsen could be handed his first start on Tuesday night following his impressive performances from off the bench since joining the club in the summer from Chelsea in a deal worth £37.5m.
In midfield, Ross Barkley will likely start in the double pivot, but Youri Tielemans could be rested. Amadou Onana may partner Barkley in the middle of the park while Emi Buendia supports Jhon Duran in attack. Jaden Philogene may not recover from a knock in time to feature against Wycombe, leaving Leon Bailey as the option on the right, while Jacob Ramsey could keep his place on the left. Kadan Young could be a surprise inclusion.
Predicted Villa XI: Gauci, Nedeljkovic, Carlos, Torres, Maatsen, Onana, Barkley, Bailey, Ramsey, Buendia, Duran.
