Carabao Cup offers Unai Emery's fringe players a chance to impress

There is always a slightly strange conversation around Aston Villa and the Carabao Cup under Unai Emery because saying that the manager has not always prioritised the competition can very quickly become saying that he does not care about it, and I don't think those two things are necessarily the same. Emery will want Villa to beat Coventry City and progress, just as he wants to win every game his team plays, but everything we have seen since he arrived suggests that when decisions have to be made around workload, team selection and the competitions which matter most, the League Cup tends to find itself fairly low down the list.

That is understandable when you consider the demands Villa are operating under these days, particularly when they are trying to compete in the Champions League while also ensuring they remain in the European places domestically, but Wednesday night's trip to Coventry is interesting because this feels like exactly the sort of occasion when making significant changes does not necessarily have to mean considerably weakening the team. Villa have assembled a squad containing several players who either need football, need an opportunity to impress Emery or simply need more time playing alongside their new team-mates, and suddenly a Carabao Cup tie offers something which could actually be extremely useful.

Alejandro Garnacho is the obvious example because at some point Villa simply need to get him onto a football pitch from the beginning of a game. Johan Manzambi is another who would benefit enormously from more minutes after coming into the game against Nottingham Forest, while Alyyson gave everybody a glimpse of what he can offer with his goal at the weekend and João Gomes is available again after suspension. Taylor Harwood-Bellis has yet to make his debut after his £30million move and Tammy Abraham is another who could find himself starting, so even if Emery makes eight, nine or potentially even more changes, there should still be plenty of intrigue around the side he selects.

There is a freshness to that which might actually be quite welcome after the way the Premier League season has started. Villa have found life difficult domestically and, as we saw in Bruges in the Champions League, sometimes moving into another competition can offer a little release from everything that has been happening in the league. The pressure is different, the surroundings are different and players who have perhaps been waiting impatiently for their opportunity suddenly have the chance to make themselves part of the conversation.

That is particularly important when you look at the competition for places which is beginning to develop. If Garnacho plays well, he gives Emery something to think about. If Manzambi gets another hour or more under his belt and begins to show how he can knit Villa's attacking play together, his case becomes stronger. If Harwood-Bellis comes into the team and looks comfortable immediately, perhaps the conversation around the centre-backs changes ahead of Tottenham. Even somebody like João Gomes can use the evening to get valuable football into his legs rather than being thrown straight back into the intensity of another Premier League game.

Perhaps it is also an opportunity for Emery to experiment with players in positions we perhaps haven't seen them in this season, could George Hemmings eventually get some football in the double pivot? That is part of what these games can provide because there is a balance to be found between respecting the competition and using it intelligently, particularly when the squad contains young players and new signings whose roles are still developing.

The danger, of course, is that Coventry will probably look at the evening very differently. Villa can talk about rotation and workload because they have Champions League football and a Premier League game against Tottenham to consider, whereas Coventry have an opportunity to beat a local rival they have not faced competitively for 25 years. They have had a difficult beginning to the season themselves and will surely see this as an opportunity to generate some momentum, particularly with a home crowd that will understand exactly what beating Villa would mean.

That is why Villa cannot simply throw a collection of players onto the pitch and expect individual quality to carry them through. We have seen cup teams in the past which have lacked rhythm because so many changes have been made at once, and there is always a danger when players who have barely played together are suddenly expected to produce the sort of cohesion Emery demands. Coventry will sense that as well, particularly if they decide to select something close to their strongest side.

I understand why the Carabao Cup is unlikely ever to sit at the top of Emery's priorities while Villa are competing at this level, and if you gave me the choice between Champions League qualification and winning the League Cup then the financial and sporting realities of modern football make the answer fairly straightforward. Thankfully, though, Villa do not have to make that choice on Wednesday night.

They just have to go to Coventry and win a football match, and with the number of players who should be desperate to show Emery they deserve considerably more football than they have been getting, there really should be enough motivation within this squad to make sure they do.