Ipswich Town travel to Reading in the Carabao Cup Second Round tonight (8pm). Mark Heath takes a look at the talking points heading into the game...
Cup half full
It wouldn't be a preview of an Ipswich Town cup game without mentioning how rank bad the club's record in knock-out competitions has been in recent years.
Having battled Arsenal in the semi-finals of this competition back in 2011, Town now haven't reached the third round since the 2015/16 season, when they lost 3-0 to a strong Manchester United side at Old Trafford.
That United starting XI featured the likes of Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
In contrast, for nostalgia's sake, Mick McCarthy fielded the following starting unit: Bialkowski; Emmanuel, Yorwerth, Malarcyzk, Parr; Bru, Coke, Tabb, Oar; McGoldrick, Murphy.
Kieran McKenna is making a habit of changing old narratives at Town though and, having enjoyed a decent FA Cup run last season, tonight seems a good opportunity to make progress in another cup.
A win tonight could also potentially set up a rematch of that United clash eight years ago, with the big name Premier League sides - those involved in European play - entering the draw at the third round stage.
That draw is set to take place tomorrow night.
Ringing the changes
McKenna fielded an entirely different starting XI for the 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers in the first round earlier this month to the side who won 2-1 at Sunderland to start the season.
That XI was: Slicker; Ball, Edmundson, Baggott, Leigh; Evans, Taylor; Jackson, Hutchinson, Harness; Ladapo.
Speaking on Town TV, assistant boss Martyn Pert said there will be changes again tonight.
"I think we’ll change it," he explained. "Obviously we changed it for the previous game (against Bristol Rovers) and I think it will be similar in terms of changes.
"I’m not sure what the changes will be. We’re discussing it at the moment and there will definitely be changes, getting players minutes and going there to try to get the win."
One imagines a similar line-up to the above could take the field tonight - though with Greg Leigh now at Oxford United, a full debut for Manchester United loanee Brandon Williams at left back looks to be in order.
He had a pretty torrid cameo in the Leeds defeat, stepping off the bench to get brushed aside by a rampaging Luis Sinisterra en route to his goal on Saturday.
More minutes from the start tonight should help get rid of some rust and build Williams' confidence.
On the opposing flank, it will be interesting to see if McKenna gives Harry Clarke more minutes there as he manages his troublesome Achilles, or goes with Dom Ball again.
Janoi Donacien and George Hirst, who missed the Leeds game with injuries, won't feature tonight.
Pert said: "I think JD it was a groin injury from QPR and I think he’ll probably struggle for the weekend.
"George was touch and go and will probably just miss out on Tuesday night, but we’ll see how it goes the rest of the week."
Royals flushed
Reading were relegated from the Championship last season after having six points deducted for breaching financial rules, and they haven't enjoyed the best of starts to life in League One.
They sit 16th in the table, with two wins and three defeats from their first five games.
They actually only have five points on the board, having been deducted a single point by the EFL earlier this month for financial issues dating back to 2022.
However, they produced perhaps their best performance of the season so far in their thumping 4-0 first round win at Championship outfit Millwall.
And boss Ruben Selles, whose side are coming off a 2-1 defeat at Exeter on Saturday, says he hopes his charges can claim another Championship scalp tonight.
Of the game, he said: "There will be some changes because we need to take care of our players.
"Everybody is working hard and everybody deserves an opportunity – and the cup gives an opportunity to give some minutes to players who haevn’t been playing regularly for us.
"When you are in our squad, you are important for us. It doesn’t matter if you are a starter or a finisher of the game or a substitute, you just need to be able to make an impact on the game when you get the chance.
"But Tuesday night is also a game I want to win and that is what I’m going to try to do. I think I have players enough to go for it.
"It's an exciting challenge in a competition we like to play in. And as we did last time, we are going to go for it.
"I’ll be very happy if we can repeat the performance we put in at Millwall in the first round, that’s for sure. But I want us to repeat that performance every week of course."
Young midfielder Charlie Savage, son of golden-maned pundit Robbie, scored his first senior goal in that win over Millwall.
The 20-year-old midfielder, who joined the Royals from Manchester United in the summer, has featured in every game so far this season and will be one to keep a eye on tonight, if he plays.
Reading's top scorer so far this campaign is Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan with four.
He scored twice in that win at Millwall, and the 20-year-old striker will no doubt be champing at the bit to test himself against Town tonight.
A Reading return
One of the Town fringe players who will probably see action tonight is Sone Aluko, who scored off the bench in the first round win over Bristol Rovers.
This will be a return to a club where he spent four years, signing from Fulham for £7.5m in the summer of 2017.
Aluko played more than 100 games for the Royals and admits he's looking forward to going back to the Madejski Stadium.
"Every time you play at a club you’ve played for before, it’s a fixture you look out for," he said.
"So when the draw came in I had a little smile to myself.
"But the way we are at this club, it’s just another game.
"We’ll treat it as if it was Leeds in the league or Burnley in the cup, no differently – the preparation will be the same, we’ll go out to try to win the game, be brave and try to impose our style and hopefully we’ll get a win.”
Of his time at Reading, he added: "It was mixed. There was a lot of change in the four years I was there – I think four or five managers in the four years.
"There were some really good times and some low points when the team wasn’t doing as well as we could.
"But that’s football. Every year and every day of being a professional footballer I’ve enjoyed."
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