Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has admitted Saturday's Barclays Premier League showdown with Manchester City is his priority as they prepares his side for Tuesday's Capital One Cup clash with Tottenham. Lambert is likely to rest several his star names for your knockout tie after having a gruelling commence to the season which can be as a result of continue for the weekend against Manuel Pellegrini's in-form side.
Christian Benteke is almost guaranteed to sit out sustained a shoulder injury in last Saturday's 1-0 win at Norwich, along with his replacement and goalscorer Libor Kozak pushing for a start. Gabriel Agbonlahor and Antonio Luna may be rested after returning from injury issues from the Canaries, with Lambert acknowledging his side's tough start to the season has had its toll.
Lambert told his club's official website: "We've played very difficult teams in this opening spell - three teams you believe will probably be round about there in Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, and now we have two more tough ones. Lambert named a comparatively strong side for that 3-0 make an impression on Rotherham over the last round but is attentive to keeping his first-choice stars fresh with the big City game approaching.
Other changes are anticipated to determine Jed Steer yet again replacing Brad Guzan in goal, while Nicklas Helenius and Yacouba Sylla could step into the starting-get in line after being substitutes with the weekend. Of particular concern to Lambert may be the fitness of Agbonlahor and Luna, who played contrary to the Canaries despite only working out for part of a couple weeks ago, and are also unlikely for being risked again so soon.
Andre Villas-Boas believes his Tottenham side face an impossible task and they have not been given a reasonable crack in the competition because of fixture congestion. Spurs go Villa Park on Tuesday for your third-round clash, barely 48 hrs after their 1-0 Premier League win at Cardiff.
The action will need place on Tuesday on account of Birmingham and West Brom staying at home to Swansea and Arsenal respectively on Wednesday, and concerns over the potential impact on crowd safety on account of policing demands.
Villas-Boas understands the reasoning, but it is doing little to raise his mood. The Portuguese feels the additional a day Villa have experienced to recoup and prepare can be decisive. One man who will certainly not play a part is defender Danny Rose, while striker Jermain Defoe is a doubt with a groin problem.
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