Ireland named but unlikely to play

Soccer: Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert could be forced to make at least one change for tomorrow night’s Capital One Cup tie…

Soccer:Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert could be forced to make at least one change for tomorrow night's Capital One Cup tie against Manchester City.

Cork Born midfielder Stephen Ireland could miss out on a return to his former club after he left the pitch in the 4-1 defeat by Southampton with a suspected broken arm.

Chris Herd and Fabian Delph are both available after injuries and could feature but it could still be a game too soon for Marc Albrighton (foot) while there is still no sign of Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne (groin) and Gary Gardner (ligaments) who are long-term absentees.

Aston Villa squad:Given, Guzan, Lowton, Bennett, Lichaj, Clark, Vlaar, Baker, Herd, El Ahmadi, Westwood, Bannan, Ireland, Delph, Holman, N'Zogbia, Bent, Benteke, Agbonlahor, Bowery, Weimann, Burke, Johnson, Williams.

  • Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date

  • What’s making headlines in the rugby world? Listen to The Counter Ruck podcast with Nathan Johns

  • Sign up for push alerts to get the best breaking news, analysis and comment delivered to your phone