Brentford head coach Keith Andrews was keen to stress the seriousness with which the Bees are taking this season's Carabao Cup ahead of Wednesday evening's trip to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland. 

Brentford head up north knowing that a win would see them reach the Quarter Finals of the competition for the third season running, with the Irishman stating his side are determined to go "as far as we can". 

The West Londoners progressed through to the fourth round stage after beating Birmingham City 6-1 and Reading 2-1 in the previous stages of the competition, whilst hosts Sunderland beat Hull City 1-0 in their only cup tie so far this season, having joined the competition a round later due to their participation in the UEFA Europa League. 

The two sides have already faced each other on one occasion this season, with Regis Le Bris' Black Cats holding the Bees to a 1-1 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium in September, after Vitaly Janelt's opener was cancelled out by an Enzo Le Fee penalty.

Antoni Milambo and Josh Dasilva are both closing in on a return to first team action, Keith Andrews has confirmed, with the two midfielders both in training with the rest of the group. 

Milambo has only made three appearances for the Bees since his move from Feyenoord in the summer of 2025, having been sidelined with an ACL injury for the past 12 months. The Dutchman has made two appearances for the Brentford Under 21 side this season, however his official return to first team action was delayed after picking up a minor knock over the recent international break. 

Josh Dasilva returned to action in May after almost two and a half years out with a knee injury but is yet to feature for the first team this season, having picked up a hamstring injury whilst aiming to build fitness with the Under 21 side in late August. 

On the fitness of Milambo and Dasilva, Andrews said: "“Antoni trained with the group on Saturday and he’s involved again today, so he’s in and around it. Josh, similarly to Antoni, was involved with the Saturday session before the Hull game. He’s building - he was involved in a bigger session in midweek last week and is making really good strides."

Andrews also confirmed Kaye Furo is making 'good progress' in his recovery from a metartarsal injury, for which he underwent surgery last month.

Rico Henry, however, who hasn't played since last round's tie with Reading, is expected to be out until after the upcoming international break with a hip and quad issue. 

Meanwhile Vitaly Janelt, who missed the trip to Hull through suspension, is available again, although Yehor Yarmoliuk is still absent, currently serving a longer three match ban due to his red card being for 'violent conduct'.

Keith Andrews has suggested he will be fielding a strong team at the Stadium of Light, although with three games in six days changes are still to be expected from the Brentford head coach. 

Questioned on the importance of squad rotation on Wednesday evening, Andrews said: "[It will be] to a point I suppose, [but] it's as important of a game to us as Hull was and Nottingham Forest is on Saturday." 

“We got to the Quarter Finals last year and if we come through this game then we’ll get to the same point. We want to go as far as we can go in this competition." 

With the strength in depth Brentford possess this season the Bees' head coach will have the luxury of being able to rest and rotate certain players whilst still maintaining a strong side capable of winning the game if he chooses to do so. 

An interesting decision from Andrews regarding the strength of his lineup will be whether or not Hakon Valdimarsson starts in goal.

The Icelandic international started in the win at Birmingham but missed the last round at Reading with injury, allowing a start for third choice keeper Ellery Balcombe in his place. Valdimarsson is predominantly seen as Brentford's cup goalkeeper, however was benched for first choice Caoimhin Kelleher in the FA Cup Round of 16 last season, where Andrews was determined to field the strongest possible team he could.

Club captain Nathan Collins is expected to make his first appearance since the 1-1 draw with Wednesday's opponents back in September, during which he suffered a calf injury. Jannik Schuster appears likely to partner him at centre back. 

Summer signing El Hadji Malick Diouf will most likely start at left back, whilst Vitaly Janelt, who scored against Sunderland back in September, is expected to be restored to the starting lineup having been suspended for the 1-1 draw with Hull City. 

Mikkel Damsgaard, who was benched at Hull to the surprise of some, is also likely to start for the Bees in midfield.

When asked about Damsgaard's reduced minutes, Andrews revealed the Dane has been playing through some pain in recent weeks leading to a lack of starts, however is now fully fit, he says: “We’ve had to be careful with him. He evaded a pretty naughty tackle [playing for Denmark] and we were pretty worried that that might be quite significant.

“He did well to avoid a serious injury, but he has had some pain, so we’ve had to tread carefully with how much he’s trained and how much contact he can have. Because it was right foot, he was still feeling it, but coming into the Hull game he started to be a little bit more pain free. He’s in a better place now [and] he's good to go." 

A start for Fabio Carvalho is also possible but at this stage uncertain with no confirmation currently received as to the reason behind his absence from the matchday squad over the weekend.

Jaidon Anthony will be expected to come back into the side having been benched at Hull, whilst Callum Wilson, who has scored in both of Brentford's Carabao Cup ties this season, could also be handed a chance to stake his claim up front amidst a difficult run of form for first choice number nine Igor Thiago. 

Predicted Brentford XI to face Sunderland: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Schuster, Collins, Diouf, Sangare, Janelt, Anthony, Damsgaard, Schade, Wilson