Five Carabao Cup first-round fixtures on Wednesday; Leyton Orient host QPR live on Sky Sports Football from 7.30pm; kick-off 7.45pm; Other fixtures include Blackpool vs Middlesbrough, Burton vs Oxford, Coventry City vs Northampton and Nottingham Forest vs Bradford
Wednesday 11 August 2021 18:39, UK
Team news and stats for the remaining Carabao Cup first-round fixtures as Leyton Orient host QPR in Wednesday's matches, live on Sky Sports.
Leyton Orient are without Adam Thompson and Harry Smith for the visit of QPR. Defender Thompson is not ready to return from an ankle injury and striker Smith is recovering from a knee problem.
Both have stepped up their rehabilitation but Wednesday's match comes too soon. Veteran skipper Darren Pratley could be rested by boss Kenny Jackett.
QPR could welcome back Ilias Chair, who missed the opening-day draw with Millwall through illness.
Manager Mark Warburton will also rotate his squad with Charlie Austin likely to be rested. Jordan Archer, Andre Dozzell, Jimmy Dunne and Albert Adomah could be handed starts. Sam Field is absent with a knee injury which requires surgery.
Blackpool striker Shayne Lavery will be pushing for a place in the starting XI. The 22-year-old joined the Seasiders in the summer and came off the bench to score an equaliser in their Championship opener against Bristol City.
Kenny Dougall and Kevin Stewart are making progress from their respective knee and ankle injuries and there is a chance the latter could be in contention for the Boro game.
Daniel Gretarsson, Matty Virtue, Demetri Mitchell and Gary Madine are still out of action for the hosts as they recover from injury.
It is expected that new signing Martin Payero will make his Middlesbrough debut at Bloomfield Road. The midfielder was an unused substitute as Boro drew 1-1 with Fulham at the weekend after featuring for Argentina's Olympics squad at Tokyo 2020.
Visiting boss Neil Warnock could use the game as a chance to experiment with his side.
Marcus Tavernier and Isaiah Jones could feature after an impressive impact coming off the bench during the Fulham game, with Jones providing the assist for Marc Bola's equaliser.
Burton Albion remain without striker Kane Hemmings, who sustained a pre-season injury.
Oxford United will be without John Mousinho, Sam Long and Michael Elechi. Elliott Moore is struggling with a chest infection and is not expected to feature while Clint Nosakhare and James Golding also unavailable.
However, Nathan Holland will be back, although will not play more than 30 minutes.
Jodi Jones could feature for Coventry. Jones suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury at the start of last season and came off the bench in the second half of his side's Championship victory over Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
Michael Rose and Dominic Hyam could also be in contention for the Sky Blues having both featured in the Forest game after recovering from illness. But midfielder Josh Eccles is out of action for three months after sustaining a hip injury.
Northampton boss Jon Brady expects to name Sam Hoskins in his matchday squad. The 28-year-old midfielder missed some pre-season friendlies and the Cobblers' League Two opener against Port Vale due to Covid-19.
Brady believes that Michael Harriman and Jack Sowerby are close to making their returns to the side. Harriman is recovering from illness while Sowerby sustained a shoulder injury during pre-season.
Nottingham Forest boss Chris Hughton will be hoping for some positive news on the fitness front as they look to bounce back from their agonising late defeat to Coventry.
Forest's final two pre-season fixtures were disrupted by Covid-19 and striker Lewis Grabban was forced to miss Sunday's Championship opener at Coventry due to self-isolation.
Nuno Da Costa (groin) and Joe Worrall (calf) were also absent while Loic Mbe Soh (groin) was forced off before half-time at the Coventry Building Society Arena, where Hughton's men went down to a stoppage-time winner.
Tobias Figueiredo could feature against Bradford, having come off the bench to replace Mbe Soh at the weekend after being ruled out of pre-season due to a calf injury.
Bradford manager Derek Adams revealed that 19-year-old Finn Cousin-Dawson will feature for Bradford at right-back.
Forward Lee Angol came close to scoring in the Bantams' 0-0 draw against Exeter, and will be hoping that his good form sees him feature against Forest.
Midfielder Yann Songo'o is expected to miss out with a knee injury that kept him out of three pre-season games and the Exeter clash.
Caolan Lavery is another doubt for the Bantams. The striker did not travel to Devon over the weekend as he looks to build up fitness after signing earlier this month.
