Aston Villa fight Middlesbrough in Carabao Cup third-round
By Josh Tonti
For the second time in one week, Aston Villa host Middlesbrough at Villa Park. The claret and blue can exact Carabao Cup revenge following the pair’s 0-0 draw last Tuesday.
Villa will welcome Middlesbrough again on Tuesday. This time, the clubs will battle for a spot in the final sixteen of this year’s EFL Cup.
Expect Steve Bruce to rest several of his key starters following a mid-week clash last week, one this week, and one the week after. That is a lot of Championship football for someone like John Terry at the age of 36.
Likewise, Jonathan Kodjia only just returned from ankle surgery, playing 30 and 60 minutes respectively in the last two matches. He is very unlikely to start. Considering Keinan Davis came off with a small knock, Ross McCormack could see involvement as well.
The wide areas remain anyone’s guess. André Green joins Jack Grealish on the injury table with neither likely to see first-team action until 2018. Callum O’Hare, though, will be brought back into the eighteen against Boro.
ASTON VILLA XI (4-2-3-1/4-3-3): Steer; Bree, Samba, Elphick, De Laet; Lansbury, Doyle-Hayes; O’Hare, Onomah, Bjarnason; Hogan.
SUBSTITUTES: Bunn, Clark, Hutton, Hourihane, Blackett-Taylor, Agbonlahor, McCormack.
This is a tricky one to predict. It seems unlikely Bruce elects to risk either Albert Adomah and Ahmed Elmohamady in the cup. Similarly, due to Mile Jedinak’s continued absence, Glenn Whelan should be rested as well.
Corey Blackett-Taylor could get a run out on the right wing; especially if Callum O’Hare is used underneath as opposed to wide midfield. Jake Doyle-Hayes, at the age of 18, might even supplant Josh Onomah in midfield.
For Middlesbrough, Ryan Shotton and Marvin Johnson are both out. The pair are cup-tied from earlier rounds of the competition.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 19, 2017 @2:45PM EST
WHERE: Villa Park, Birmingham
PREDICTION: 2-1 Aston Villa (O’Hare, Bjarnason) (Howson)
Chalk another one up for Aston Villa. They’re on three consecutive clean sheets, Jed Steer played out of his mind in the two previous rounds, and the Villa Park advantage should see them through.