Town are in Sunderland tonight for the second round of the league cup. With wholesale changes likely to the starting lineup, it’s an impossible task to know what sort of team we will be fielding. There’s not much point debating whether Town should or shouldn’t field a strong team, as this competition is universally used by teams to give their fringe players a run out.
Luckily, Town have a good amount of depth and few injuries compared to last season, so we can rest players and not lose too much. In fact, this game is a good opportunity to get minutes into a few players that will be miffed to be outside of the starting eleven for league games.
Goalkeeper: Nicholls
Lee Nicholls was the hero of the penalty shootout in the first round and could be again if we can keep the scores level tonight. With a week left in the transfer window, he may see this as a chance to put himself in the shop window. Though I’ll be happy if he makes it through the game without giving a goal away from a dodgy pass, as he’ll be expected to play short despite this not being something he’s great at.
Defenders: Gooch, Whatmough, Wallace, Sway
I don’t know if Gooch’s connection to Sunderland will be a factor in his selection but with Sorensen starting on Saturday, I think Gooch is the most likely to play right back tonight. Though as Sorensen played well at the weekend, I’m less bothered which one starts in this game.
Jack Whatmough’s selection was all but confirmed by Lee Grant when he talked about how well Jack has coped with getting dropped for Josh Feeney after the Blackpool defeat. The other central defender will most likely not be Low as he’s played a lot of minutes so far in the league. That leaves Wallace, Balker or Feeney as options to come in. I’m guessing Wallace will get the nod as Feeney is likely to start on Saturday and Balker looks like he’s out in the cold at the moment (he looks a bit fed up when he’s knocking around the stadium on match days in his tracksuit).
Jaw Sway is a young lad from the B Team that stepped up in the summer to fill in various gaps for Town’s friendlies. He didn’t feature in the U21 game on Sunday, so I’d expect he’ll be involved in this match in some way and left back is where he’s played most in preseason despite it not being his preferred role (I think he’s a right back but looks comfortable on the left).
Midfield: Kasumu, Vost
David Kasumu was excellent for us during spells last season but he’s struggled for opportunities this season so far with Kane and Ledson nailing down the two positions in midfield. Kasumu is not as technically gifted as those two but he’s quicker, can carry the ball forward better and is at least as good a tackler. A good performance in this match could give Lee Grant a difficult decision when he’s choosing the team for Saturday.
Dan Vost played against Leicester and scored a header by reacting first to the rebound from Dion Charles’ saved penalty. Like Sway, he stepped up from the B Team in the summer and it seems that Lee Grant sees something in him. Against Leicester he showed good composure on the ball and had some nice passes. I’d like to see him take a few more risks and show for the ball more, as he played pretty safe in his last game.
Attackers: Taylor, Castledine, Ashia
With Taylor not starting either of last week’s league games, I think he’ll get a start tonight. While he’s best as a striker, we could really do with him and May being able to play alongside each other in Grant’s system, so why not use this game to try Taylor in the Harness role on the right side, tucked in behind the striker? It’s not his natural role but I think his pace will be useful on the break in this game if we find ourselves needing an outlet.
Leo Castledine was unlucky to lose his spot to Wiles after having a decent game against Doncaster last week. The best reaction would be for him to start tonight and show Lee Grant why he should start ahead of Ben Wiles.
After scoring cracking goals against Reading and Leicester, Ashia has only featured from the bench and hasn’t had many chances to really get at an opponent. Hopefully in this game he’ll get to show that he’s ready to play regularly for Town.
Striker: Charles
Dion Charles is one of those players that is probably feeling a bit out in the cold, given he’s not currently making our match day squad, never mind starting games. He looked low in confidence against Leicester but the only real way to fix it is for him to play games and score goals. Tonight would be an excellent time for him to score his first goal for Town and get that monkey off his back. I’ve picked Charles as the main striker and Taylor behind but it could easily be Taylor furthest forward and Chalres deeper. With May and Taylor both competing for the main striker role, Charles’ best chance of playing this season could be playing in one for the deeper attacking roles. Either way, I really hope he can turn it around as he works hard and looks to have the ability to do well but it’s just not happened for him yet at Town.