Southampton will be without Jay Rodriguez when they host Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup.
Striker Rodriguez is sidelined by a groin complaint so Charlie Austin, who came off the bench to score the winner against Swansea on Sunday, could start.
Youngsters Harrison Reed and Lloyd Isgrove are in contention but Sofiane Boufal and Jeremy Pied are still out with knee injuries.
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew is expected to utilise his squad at Southampton.
Midfielder Yohan Cabaye could feature as he recovers from a groin problem, while Bakary Sako is another in need of match action along with forward Connor Wickham.
Defender James Tomkins picked up a knee injury in Sunday’s 4-1 Premier League win over Stoke, while Pape Souare will be out for up to six months after he was injured in a car accident.
The last two League Cup meetings between Southampton and Crystal Palace have ended 2-0 to the Eagles (1992 and 2011).
Southampton have won seven of their last 10 matches against Palace in all competitions (L3).
Palace have conceded a combined total of eight goals in their last two League Cup matches against fellow Premier League opponents, losing both matches.
The Saints have kept just one clean sheet (2-0 v Portsmouth in 2003) in their last 19 League Cup matches against Premier League opponents.
Southampton have reached the fourth round of the League Cup in each of the last five seasons, making the quarter-finals in each of the last two.
Sky Sports Power Rankings’ best Premier League XI so far
The Premier League season is five matchdays old but which players have been the standout performers?
Here, we have compiled a team based on the players with the highest accumulative points totals in the Sky Sports Power Rankings.
Be sure to check out Sky Sports Power Rankings every Tuesday to see whether your favourite players have topped the charts.
Everton’s goalkeeper became Ronald Koeman’s first signing in charge at Goodison Park, joining for an undisclosed fee from Fulham following a season-long loan with Southampton as Fraser Forster’s understudy.
The Dutchman has only made nine saves, seven of which came from shots inside the box, during the Toffees’ best start to league campaign since 1978/79, but he has kept two clean sheets and only conceded three goals.
Pep Guardiola has played Aleksander Kolarov at centre-back and full-back this season, with the Serbian even venturing into midfield during the Citizens’ 4-0 win over Bournemouth at the weekend.
This season, the 30-year-old has made eight tackles, 28 clearances, eight interceptions and 253 successful passes - of which 60 have ended in the attacking third of the pitch.
The Hull City captain almost topped the Power Rankings in week two but was narrowly beaten by Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The two came head-to-head four days later, with Davies dominating the Swede until substitute Marcus Rashford snatched a late winner for United.
Davies has made a league-high of 12 blocks this season, along with 47 clearances, 33 interceptions and seven tackles.
Crystal Palace captain Scott Dann comes in as Davies’ centre-back partner. Dann provides aerial power at both ends of the pitch, having scored two headers and completed 30 headed clearances this season.
Tottenham’s Kyle Walker has helped Spurs keep three clean sheets this term, completed 229 successful passes and is among the fastest sprinters in the league, clocking 35km/h against Everton in the opening game of the season.
Eden Hazard started this season like he finished 2014/15 - when he was named PFA Player of the Year. The Belgian has dropped down the rankings in recent weeks but makes the XI just ahead of Liverpool’s Sadio Mane
The 25-year-old has made more successful passes into the attacking third (140) than any other midfielder, while creating 11 chances and scoring two goals.
Few would have predicted Etienne Capoue’s explosive start for Watford this campaign. The 28-year-old has started four of Watford’s games in central midfield and only played once in his more familiar defensive role.
That change has reaped rewards, with the Frenchman netting four goals already this season after failing to hit the back of the net once in 2015/16.
Unsurprisingly, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne makes the XI, being the current Power Rankings No 1. The Belgian tops the chart with an accumulative Power Rankings total of 18,289 points.
Both of De Bruyne’s goals this season have come from outside the box and he has also registered three assists and two second-assists, while creating 17 chances in total - behind only Southampton’s Dusan Tadic (18).
Raheem Sterling becomes Manchester City’s third inclusion in the Power Rankings XI after recovering from a difficult summer at the Euros with England.
Sterling has rediscovered top form under new City boss Pep Guardiola, scoring three goals and assisting two so far this term.
Chelsea’s talisman Diego Costa leads the Power Rankings strike-force, collecting 15,811 points after notching five league goals in as many games.
However, the Brazilian-born Spaniard failed to prevent Chelsea from a 2-1 home defeat to Liverpool on Friday Night Football, despite scoring a consolation goal.
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku has stormed up the charts since his 11-minute second-half hat-trick against Sunderland broke an 11-game Premier League drought.
The third Belgian to make the Power Rankings XI scored his fourth goal of the season during the Toffees’ 3-1 win over Middlesbrough at Goodison Park on Saturday after claiming a touch on Yannick Bolasie’s goal-bound cross.
The Power Rankings methodology reflects a player’s performance by awarding points to players for 32 different matchday stats.
Below we present the current Power Rankings season top 50…
Southampton boss Claude Puel wants to progress in the EFL Cup despite the strain it will put on his squad.
Saints have kick-started their season over the last week with a victory in the Europa League over Sparta Prague before claiming their first Premier League success against Swansea on Sunday.
And the Frenchman wants to make it three wins in a row, and stay in another competition, when Crystal Palace arrive at St Mary’s for Wednesday’s EFL Cup third-round tie.
Nevertheless, Puel will again rotate his squad with youngsters such as midfield duo Harrison Reed and Lloyd Isgrove set to be involved.
“All the time for me it’s important to win, and to win in different competitions, because I think it is very important for the future,” he said.
"All the squad, all the players can have some participation, to improve the young players and also to make progress.
"It’s important to keep the idea to improve all the players, not just 10 or 11.
“It’s not possible to play three games in a week so if we give some time to all the players who can improve and arrive with this group then we can see a good squad, not just for today, but for the future.”
The Saints boss made six changes for the 1-0 win over Swansea, saying it had a positive effect on their performance.
“If we’d started Sunday with the same players on Thursday we would have lost the game,” he said.
“We have a squad of young players and they can learn together, so it’s is very interesting to play all these competitions with this squad.”
Striker Charlie Austin was frustrated to start on the bench against the Swans after scoring twice against Sparta - although he came on to hit the winner - but Puel insists his players are buying into the rotation policy.
“I think now my players understand the philosophy and the possibilities to change because we can keep good results, good solutions, good football and to win all the games in all the competitions,” he added.
There is no rest for Southampton with the Palace game followed by a trip to West Ham on Sunday and then a long journey to Israel to face Hapoel Beer-Sheva in the Europa League.
Puel said: “It’s very important for the squad to play many games. It’s hard but a very good challenge for all the squad. We have different players who can do good work.”
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Joe Ledley insists Crystal Palace 's recent cup record against Southampton will count for nothing at St Mary’s.
Palace have knocked Southampton out of the FA Cup in each of the last two seasons and the two sides face each other again in the EFL Cup third round tonight.
Midfielder Ledley said: "We have played them a few times (in cups) and come out on top, but we don’t want to jinx that and we know it will be a hard game.”
Both teams are coming off the back of Premier League wins at the weekend.
But Palace boss and former Southampton chief Alan Pardew is set to ring the changes ahead of Saturday’s trip to Sunderland.
But Ledley warned his teammates: "It doesn’t matter who the gaffer puts out, you are going to represent Crystal Palace Football Club and you have to go and perform to the best possible standard that you can.”
Southampton boss Claude Puel wants to progress in the EFL Cup despite the strain it will put on his squad.
Saints kick-started their season last week with victory in the Europa League over Sparta Prague before registering Puel’s maiden Premier League success against Swansea on Sunday.
And the Frenchman wants to make it three wins in a row, and stay in another competition, when Crystal Palace arrive on the South Coast on Wednesday night.
“All the time for me it’s important to win, and to win in different competitions, because I think it is very important for the future,” he said. "All the squad, all the players can have some participation, to improve the young players and also to make progress.
"It’s important to keep the idea to improve all the players, not just 10 or 11. It’s not possible to play three games in a week so if we give some time to all the players who can improve and arrive with this group then we can see a good squad, not just for today, but for the future.
“If we’d started Sunday with the same players on Thursday we would have lost the game. We have a squad of young players and they can learn together, so it’s very interesting to play all these competitions with this squad.”
Charlie Austin was frustrated to start on the bench against the Swans after scoring twice against Sparta – although he came on to hit the winner – but Puel insists his players are buying into the rotation policy.
“I think now my players understand the philosophy and the possibilities to change because we can keep good results, good solutions, good football and to win all the games in all the competitions,” he added. “It’s very important for the squad to play many games. It’s hard but a very good challenge for all the squad. We have different players who can do good work.”
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hours to go!
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