Walsall v Charlton Athletic

Walsall host Charlton Athletic in the early kick-off of Tuesday evening’s Carabao Cup second round action. The Saddlers beat Swindon Town 2-0 in the first round and will be relishing the chance of upsetting Ben Garner’s Addicks. Michael Flynn had a very impressive record in cup competitions in his time at Newport County, seeing it as a way to significantly increase the funds coming into the club, his approach will be largely similar with Walsall.

The Addicks have stumbled upon something of an early season mini-crisis with their player availability. Conor McGrandles, Steven Sessegnon, Chuks Aneke and Corey Blackett-Taylor will likely be ruled out through injury, while Mandela Egbo could return but in a minor capacity.

Garner will also be wanting to rest players ahead of two difficult away games at Wycombe Wanderers and Bolton Wanderers. Charlton do not have a depth of quality in attack and defence, in midfield they have an abundance of options, but some of those players may be set for departures before the transfer deadline, potentially leading to a lower level of performance.

The Saddlers have started brightly in League Two, and with the visitors’ minds firmly on the league and a strong chance they field a lot of younger players, there is value on the outsiders.

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Sheffield Wednesday v Rochdale 

Sheffield Wednesday beat Championship side Sunderland in the last round of the Carabao Cup and should have no problems getting past League Two outfit Rochdale. 

The Owls are aiming for promotion under Darren Moore from League One this season and have had a very impressive transfer window, bringing in the likes of Will Vaulks, David Stockdale and Michael Ihiekwe to bolster their squad. They have also managed to keep hold of key trio Josh Windass, Barry Bannan and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru this summer and are currently 4^th in the table after the first five games having lost only once so far this term. They beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 away at the weekend with goals from George Byers and Liam Palmer and Moore said after the game that it was a ‘good performance’ from his side again. In terms of injury news, the Yorkshire club will be without striker Michael Smith for the visit of Rochdale but they have depth in their squad to deal with his absence, with Lee Gregory and Callum Paterson the most likely alternatives. Full-back Jack Hunt remains sidelined as well but that isn’t an issue as the experienced Palmer is having a strong start to the campaign and scored last time out. Sheffield Wednesday will be too strong for their fourth tier opponents if they carry on their strong start to the campaign. 

Rochdale are struggling at the bottom end of the Football League already and were beaten again over the weekend by Swindon Town 3-0. They sit 24^th in the table and have lost all five of their opening matches, scoring just a single goal and conceding eight. Their dismal start has seen Robbie Stockdale lose his job already and the caretaker boss, Jim McNulty, said after the game at the County Ground that the past week as being ‘so, so difficult’ for his side. On the injury front, the Dale don’t have any fresh injury concerns and it will be interesting to see how if they make changes for their trip to Hillsborough. The average age of their squad is 25 and the lack of experience in their ranks is showing. They don’t have too many options to pick from ahead of Tuesday and it could be another long evening for the North West outfit. Rochdale are seriously lacking a cutting edge up front and will be there for the taking. 

Barrow v Lincoln City

People are fast running out of superlatives to describe Barrow under Pete Wild. The 38-year-old has made an almost perfect start to life in Cumbria, with the Bluebirds sat third in League Two after five games. Barrow have four wins from those five league matches, the lone defeat coming away at Sutton United when they were controversially denied a stoppage time equaliser. Their place in the League Cup Second Round was secured with a penalty shootout victory at Blackpool, and Wild has every reason to feel confident about Barrow progressing another stage further at Holker Street. Left-winger Ben Whitfield is looking a strong signing of the season candidate with an immense impact since joining from Stockport County. Sam Foley provides solidity at the base of midfield with Chelsea loanee Sam McClelland catching the eye alongside Niall Canavan in the heart of defence.

Barrow’s third successive home game is against a Lincoln City side who themselves are accustomed to being left with a new man in the dugout. Mark Kennedy has guided the Imps to a win and three draws from their first five league games. A heavy 4-0 defeat at Peterborough United last weekend is likely not seen as season-defining for a team finding their feet in this new third tier season. Lincoln possess a good array of wide options in their side with Charles Vernam, Anthony Scully, Jordan Garrick and Charley Kendall. The trio of Tashan Oakley-Boothe, Max Sanders and Lasse Sørensen provide a well-balanced midfield behind the wide forwards, though concerns still remain that Lincoln possess one senior striker option in Tom Hopper. He could potentially be rested for this cup game with Ben House taking his place.

Barrow have been faultless at Holker Street at the start of 2022-23, and up against a mid-table side from the division above, Pete Wild’s side could be eyeing up another scalp and a place in the Third Round. There’s a real buzz around Barrow-in-Furness at the moment, and every reason to believe that it can continue for a while yet. This team is nowhere near the relegation candidate some marked them down to be in pre-season.

Stockport County v Leicester City

Stockport County have been through something of a baptism of fire in League Two, losing four of their opening five games after heading into the campaign as favourites to win the title. Dave Challinor’s men got through the first round with a 1-0 win at Harrogate Town, but their minds will be on climbing the fourth tier table in the coming weeks, more than making a run in the cup.

County captured the imagination with an epic 5-3 win after extra time win over Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup last season, but Leicester City will provide a completely different kind of test. The Foxes have been dangerous in cup competitions under Brendan Rodgers, and this match coming around so quickly gives them a good chance to get over a disappointing loss at home to Southampton at the weekend. Rodgers can make close to 11 changes and name a side capable of picking up a comfortable victory, and the slow start to the league season should only gives fringe players more motivation to impress.

The Foxes are very short to win the game outright, but backing them to score more than one goal is an option, still short but with the unpredictability of a cup, a pragmatic approach is sensible.

Stevenage v Peterborough United 

Stevenage boss Steve Evans will be locking horns with his former club Peterborough United tomorrow night in the Carabao Cup. 

Boro have made a dream start to the new League Two season and could be a potential banana skin for the Posh. They are unbeaten so far this term, winning four out of their opening five matches. The Hertfordshire club beat Carlisle United 2-1 over the weekend thanks to strikes from defenders Kane Smith and Max Clark which shows it isn’t only their strikers who can find the back of the net and that they spread their goals across the team. Evans said his players were ‘stunning’, especially in the first-half, and the fact that he is still looking for more signings before the end of the transfer window suggests they could be a force to be reckoned with this term. They have been scoring goals for fun so far, bagging eight goals in five matches, and will cause problems for Peterborough if they show up. On the injury front, attacking pair Luke Norris and Danny Rose will be assessed ahead of Tuesday after they both limped off in the last match. Jordan Roberts and Jamie Reid are two useful alternatives though and will be looking to grasp their opportunity in the cup and show that they should be starting in the league. Stevenage are on a roll at the moment and the feel-good factor is back at Broadhall Way as they look to cause a cup upset. 

Peterborough’s immediate aim this season is to get back to the Championship meaning it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them make some changes for this one. They have made a strong start and have some serious quality in forward areas in Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Marriott, who both scored twice in the 4-0 win over Lincoln City over the weekend. The Posh are 2^nd in the League One table having won four out of their opening five matches. After their big win over the Imps, their manager, Grant McCann, said his team were ‘excellent’ and he will be eager to carry on their momentum with a win over Stevenage. Peterborough have a knack for scoring goals having found the net 12 times so far this season, making them joint top scorers in the Football League along with Portsmouth. Attacking duo Kwame Poke and Joel Randell are closing in on their respective returns from injury but they have a big job on their hands getting into the starting XI at the moment. The Posh should have too much for Evans’ side but cup games always bring surprises and you can’t rule out goals here. 

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