Carling Cup

Aston Villa vs Cardiff

Date: September 23th Time: 18:45 (GMT)

The Bluebirds travel to Birmingham to face a Villa side who are in good form, having strolled to a 2-0 win over lowly Portsmouth on Saturday.

Martin O'Neill may opt to recall Reo-Coker after the pair had a training ground bust-up last week, but the Villa boss is unlikely to risk Emile Heskey who picked up an ankle knock at the weekend.

Long-term absentees Stewart Downing and Wilfred Bouma are still unavailable for first-team action, and Ashley Young could miss out with a calf injury.

Let's watch who will be the winner...

WATCH MORE CHANNELS

Carling Cup

Preston vs Tottenham

Date: September 23th Time: 18:45 (GMT)

Dawson suffered ankle and foot injuries in the first half of a Premier League game against Newcastle last April and has not featured sicne.

But with Tottenham’s injury crisis showing few signs of relenting, the sight of Dawson at Deepdale will be a timely boost for manager Harry Redknapp.

Related Articles

*
Jack Wilshere takes centre stage for Arsenal
*
Newcastle put Championship first
*
Phillips respects Sunderland fans
*
Joe Cole tipped to make World Cup

“Michael is in the squad and,” said Redknapp, “and I might look to give him an hour tomorrow. It will be good to have him back, he’s a fantastic player and a good lad, but it’s his first game back so we don’t wasn’t to push it.”

Dawson’s return is a boost, particularly as Redknapp admitted, however, that the fitness of fellow defenders Ledley King, Jonathan Woodgate and Sebastien Bassong is causing him concern.

“Ledley did a hamstring at Chelsea on Sunday which is a big blow,” added Redknapp. “He’s going for a scan to see the full extent of the problem but it’s certainly going to keep him out for a while

“Woodgate has had an injection and we’re going to give it 10 days and then if it doesn’t work, he may need another operation.

“Bassong took that bang on the head at Chelsea, I think he’s okay, but when he went down he also damaged his knee and we’re a bit concerned about that. Hopefully that’ll settle down.”

Redknapp confirmed that Roman Pavlyuchenko will also be missing at Preston, adding: “He’s got a very slight tear in his Achilles but he should be okay for the weekend.”

Let's watch who will be the winner...

WATCH MORE CHANNELS