Stoke City vs Brentford Carabao Cup fourth round preview, team news, stats, kick-off time

Team news and stats ahead of Stoke City vs Brentford in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday; kick-off 7.45pm.

Team news

Stoke have a doubt over midfielder Joe Allen ahead of the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Premier League Brentford at the bet365 Stadium.

Allen needed stitches in a foot wound after Saturday's Sky Bet Championship defeat at Millwall, so may not be risked.

Defender Tommy Smith missed the match through illness but has resumed training, while on-loan Brighton forward Abdallah Sima (ankle) should also be available following his six-game lay-off.

Danny Batth is suspended after collecting two yellow cards in earlier rounds of the competition, while midfielder Nick Powell (broken leg), Sam Clucas (quad) and defender Morgan Fox (hamstring) all remain sidelined.

Brentford goalkeeper David Raya is set to be out for between four and five months due to a knee injury sustained in Sunday's defeat by Leicester.

On Wednesday, Bees head coach Thomas Frank is set to rotate his side; Finnish striker Marcus Forss, who scored four goals in the last round against Oldham, is in line to start in attack.

Forward Bryan Mbeumo (hamstring) and defender Ethan Pinnock (hip) were both forced off during Sunday's Premier League defeat by Leicester, so will not be involved.

DR Congo winger Yoane Wissa (ankle) is also sidelined, while midfielder Vitaly Janelt (thigh), Shandon Baptiste (shoulder), defender Mads Sorensen (knee) and Josh Dasilva (hip) all continue their own rehabilitation.

• Carabao Cup news | Fixtures

How to follow

Follow Stoke City vs Brentford in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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Opta stats

• Stoke have never lost at home to Brentford in 14 previous meetings in all competitions (W10 D4) - only against Plymouth (20) have they ever faced more at home without suffering defeat as a Football League club.
• Brentford won their only previous domestic cup meeting with Stoke, winning 1-0 at home in the 2019-20 FA Cup.
• Stoke are looking to reach the League Cup quarter-final in consecutive seasons for the first time in their history.
• Having failed to reach the quarter-final stage in any of their first 60 League Cup seasons, Brentford could reach the last eight of the competition in back-to-back campaigns.
• Sam Surridge has scored six goals in his last seven appearances in the League Cup, and is the only Stoke player to score more than once in the competition so far this term.
• Marcus Forss has scored nine goals in his nine League Cup starts for Brentford, netting four in the Bees' 7-0 win against Oldham in the last round.

Carabao Cup 2021/22 draw and schedule

• Fourth round: October 26 and 27
• Quarter-finals: December 21 and 22
• Semi-finals: January 4/5 and 11/12
• Final: February 27

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