Stoke City come into tonight's Carabao Cup tie looking to utilise their home advantage as they face Premier League new boys Brentford at the bet365 Stadium.

Tonight's winner will secure their place in the last eight of the competition, a potential added bonus for Michael O'Neill's men who look revitalised from their successful summer off the pitch and are on course to have a much-improved 2021/22 campaign compared to their previous three.

Not only have they managed to offload some of their previous high earners, but have recruited well enough to provide the depth needed to deal with fixtures like the one tonight, with the Potters perhaps wary of risking too many of their key first-teamers with their busy Championship schedule.

 

 

With this busy schedule for the second-tier side and Brentford's status as a top-flight outfit, most of the pressure will be on Thomas Frank's side to come out and take the victory in Staffordshire tonight, although they will be aware of what happened in the previous round.

Stoke secured a surprising 3-1 win at Vicarage Road against another Premier League team in Watford in the previous round - and have nothing to lose going into this tie - making them a dangerous opponent to come up against.

But what lineup will Michael O'Neill go with ahead of this tie? We have a go at selecting our predicted XI.

O'Neill will probably be keen to retain some stability in the goalkeeping department, so Josef Bursik retains his place in the starting 11 ahead of Adam Davies and will probably continue to do so in all competitions until the former desperately needs a rest.

Someone who does need a rest after featuring heavily recently is James Chester, and with Danny Batth suspended for this tie, Ben Wilmot, Harry Souttar and Leo Ostigard have to come in as the back three. It's a strong central defence - and one that might be necessary if the Bees field a strong attack.

The wing-backs have been switched up though, with Alfie Doughty and Demeaco Duhaney coming in with Tommy Smith's availability not yet fully known.

Another doubt for this game is Joe Allen, who probably won't be risked for this tie. In his absence, Northern Ireland international Jordan Thompson comes in, with Josh Tymon in midfield after grabbing a goal there against Watford and Mario Vrancic starting to provide some attacking firepower.

He's probably one man along with Harry Souttar you would ideally have on the bench, but Sam Clucas not being available makes things tricky.

There are plenty of options for O'Neill to utilise up front though, with Tyrese Campbell, Sam Surridge, Jacob Brown, Steven Fletcher and Abdallah Sima all available for selection.

Although starting Campbell would be exciting, the Potters may not rush him into action just yet and the likes of Surridge and Brown will probably be rested. In their place, Fletcher and Sima come in and could prove to be a lively duo up top.

This is a much-changed lineup, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Souttar and Vrancic omitted either, as Stoke's attention will undoubtedly be on the league after such a positive start to 2021/22.

But this lineup still gives them a chance of making it through to the quarter-finals, without a doubt.