Wycombe are set to face Premier League side Aston Villa in the third round of the Carabao Cup tomorrow, kicking off at 8pm, so what can Wanderers fans expect for tomorrow night’s clash?
With the game tomorrow night expected to be a sell-out, as per Wycombe’s official X account, it is almost guaranteed that the atmosphere in and around Adams Park will be nothing short of electric, the club stating that over 7,000 tickets have been sold as of Monday, only a few tickets remaining in the Origin, Family and Frank Adams stands.
Aston Villa have visited Adams Park before, with the most notable of the fixtures being a 3-8 victory over Wanderers, who were in League Two at the time, in the League Cup, with Villa being down 3-1 at half time, managing to score seven second-half goals to secure their place in the third round.
Wanderers are still yet to secure a win against the now Champions League side, with four losses and two draws recorded in previous encounters. One of them being in the FA Cup, where Wycombe forced a replay in the third round, drawing 1-1 at Adams Park.
Aston Villa are set to go head-to-head with German giants Bayern Munich next week in the Champions League, but for now their focus will be on the game tomorrow, with Wycombe being in a good run of form, winning five of their last six games in all competitions, only fuelling their confidence going into this clash.
The Chairboys aren’t strangers to the odd cup run, with now manager and former player, Matt Bloomfield, being part of the side that faced Chelsea in the Semi-Finals of the competition. Speaking to Wanderers TV, Bloomfield reminisced:”Adams Park under the lights, I’ve been here long enough to know that special things can happen, we have to believe that things can happen and dream about them”
Unai Emery is set to rotate his side after describing Villa’s first half performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers as one of his worst half’s of football since arriving at the club. Long term absentees Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings are expected to make the bench for the game whilst Matty Cash and Jaden Philogene are likely to miss this clash. Meanwhile John McGinn who picked up a knock against Wolves is expected to be rested for the clash against the Chairboys.
Matt Bloomfield is expected to see David Wheeler and Luke Leahy back in contention for the squad. But the game is expected to be too soon for Gideon Kodua, who remains sidelined alongside Sam Vokes, Nathan Bishop, Ryan Taffazolli and Brandon Hanlan. Meanwhile Bez Lubala could be rotated and could start in the forward line.
