So we head into banana skin country tomorrow against a team which also lost on Saturday – AFC Wimbledon.
The team – based in Kingston on Thames – was beaten 2-1 at home by Sunderland at the weekend and are still to win on their own manor having lost two and drawn one. They now sit in 15th spot in League One.
Having beaten Pompey away to reach this stage of the EFL Cup, we can expect a tough examination as is usually the case against lower league sides but we can expect plenty of changes in the line-up as the manager takes his first step towards Wembley!
Adrian is sure to return and I would imagine Carlos Sanchez will hold his place in midfield given he needs minutes but Arnautovic and Antonio obviously won’t be involved after taking knocks on Saturday.
There are no serious clues yet as to personnel but I expect a 4-4-2 which could look something like this:
Adrian, Zaba, Ogbonna, Diop, Cresswell; Yarmolenko, Rice, Sanchez (capt), Obiang, Chicharito, Perez
That side would give the first team a run for their money. Now we can see the depth of our squad.
We saw how we improved with Anderson at 10, we need a flair player with pace at 10. I would also give Sanchez a rest after playing his first full 90 minutes as he is definitely one of our two starting midfielders at the weekend. I would play Obiang with Rice and possible someone like Perez at 10, not sure he has the pace for 10. Perez is definitely not a wide player.
spot on mooro
I have a feeling that Nathan Holland will be featured