Villa advance!
FULL TIME! So that's that. A brilliant start from Burton was soon negated once Villa found their footing. Grealish was dominant, Watkins had his moments and the service they received was outstanding. Dean Smith will be very pleased.
Burton shouldn't be too discouraged as they have put on a good showing and more performances like this will see them surely challenge at the top end of the League One table.
That's all for now. For everyone at VAVEL, this is John Lupo signing off saying thanks for joining me and take care!
Villains double their lead!
GOAL! 90'2 And that sends Villa to round three! Davis beats the offside trap and finds the far corner from a tight angle.
Four extra minutes
90' The fourth official signals for four minutes of added time.
Villa take the lead!
88' GOAL! It had to be him. Henri Lansbury finds Grealish from the corner and he volleys past Sharman-Lowe from just inside the box.
Villa nearly in front!
85' Jota nearly makes the ultimate impact as he has a go from 25 yards out, but goes wide.
Final change for Villa
82' Jota has come on for El Ghazi.
Villa dominating possession
78' The visitors have had 78 percent of the second half possession, but nothing to show for it.
Smith makes a double change
74' Watkins' debut for Villa is over as Keinan Davis replaces him. Ramsey is also coming off with Douglas Luiz taking his place.
Villa offside!
70' Elmohamady with more outstanding service as he finds Watkins, who shot straight at Sharman-Lowe, but the offsides flag goes up.
Double change for Burton
68' Jake Buxton makes two changes as Powell comes on for Lawless while Gilligan replaces Edwards.
Grealish again
67' The Villa captain surges towards the Burton goal, but Brayford gets in the way.
Burton unlucky!
64' And there was a chance for Burton as Akins is on the end of a neat one-two, but Hause is there for a timely block.
More pressure from Villa
60' All these crosses, but nothing to show for it. This one provided by Elmohamady, but Watkins is unable to stretch far enough for it.
Villa lacking finish
55' Grealish is starting to dominate, isn't he? A great touch to control the ball, crosses into the middle, but no one is on the end of it to finish.
Burton almost in front!
51' Wow, what a chance for the hosts! Hemmings is in behind and shoots from a tight angle, but goes wide.
Second half begins
We are ready to start the second half.
Halftime
So we are all level after 45 minutes. A dream start for Burton as Daniel gave the Brewers a second-minute lead, but once Villa got their footing, it was only a matter of time before they took over. It'll be interesting to see how the second half plays out.
We'll be back shortly for the second half.
Villa hit the crossbar!
45' Grealish is having a heck of a first half as he beats two Burton defenders at the byline and plays it in the middle for Watkins, but he hits the bar.
Burton almost re-take the lead!
42' Edwards nearly provides the perfect response as he gets off a shot from the edge of the Villa box, but he didn't get enough curl on it and it goes just wide of the post.
Villa equalize!
40' GOAL! Some superb build-up play by Villa as Grealish's neat pass released Taylor in the box who played it to Watkins and the debutant levels from close range.
Villa chance!
35' El-Ghazi takes a snap shot from the edge of the box, but once again, the shot is wide. Plenty of opportunities, but none on target for the visitors.
Burton on the counter
32' The Brewers got some players forward, but Mings makes the tackle on Hemmings to prevent the play from developing further.
Burton substitution
29' Bostwick has to come off and is replaced by Owen-John Gallacher.
Injury blow for Burton
28' It appears Bostwick has picked up a calf injury. That's not good news for a Brewers team that's already short at the back.
Villa picking up the pressure
23' El-Ghazi continues to provide good service and Ramsey continues to get on the end of that service, but again he's nowhere close to the target. He needs to calm down a little.
Villa creating chances
18' Grealish plays the ball in and it appeared Watkins was in good position, but Ramsey instead takes it on his head only to see it go over the crossbar.
Villa nearly level!
14' El-Ghazi sends in a really good free kick, but El-Mohamaday flashes his header wide. He really should have done better.
Villa half-chance
4' Watkins' first involvement in a Villa shirt sees him play the pass to the back post, but he couldn't stretch far enough to do anything with it.
Burton Albion take the lead!
1' GOAL! Jake Buxton sure looks smart now as he inserted Daniel in the lineup for tonight's game and he pays immediate dividends as Edwards picks up a loose ball after winning a duel against Taylor in the Aston Villa box, sweeps it low across the face of goal and Daniel fires it past Nyland to give the League One minnows a shock early lead!
Match starts!
The referee has blown his whistle and we are underway!
Burton Albion lineup
(4-5-1) Sharman-Lowe; Brayford, Daniel, Edwards, Bostwick; Wallace, Hemmings, Quinn, Akins, Lawless; Fox
Aston Villa lineup
(4-3-3) Nyland; Elmohamady, Hause, Mings, Taylor; Lansbury, Nkamba, El Ghazi; J. Ramsey, Grealish, Watkins
Team news: Burton Albion
Ryan Edwards makes his first start of the season for the Brewers while Teddy Sharman-Lowe, Colin Daniel and Ben Fox also come in to the starting XI.
Team news: Aston Villa
Dean Smith has handed Ollie Watkins his debut after signing from Brentford while Jack Grealish will captain the Villains for tonight's clash.
How to watch
You can watch today's match live on Sky Sports, but stay with me as i'll take you through all of the action!
Aston Villa Predicted Line-up
(4-3-3) Steer; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Hourihane, Luiz, McGinn; Trezeguet, Watkins, Grealish
Burton Albion: Predicted Line-up
(4-5-1) Garratt; Eardley, Brayford, Anderson, Wallace; Akins, Powell, Bostwick, Quinn, Lawless; Hemmings
Smith talks about "important" game
Villa boss Dean Smith is hoping the club can build some momentum after a strong end to their pre-season, winning each of their last three fixtures.
Speaking to VillaTV, he said "we have had some games that have got us ready for this; Bristol City, Wycombe (Wanderers), Arsenal and Manchester United.
"It's an important game, because it's our first, and we want to make a really positive start. Jake Buxton has gone in there and he'll have ambitions of an upset, so hopefully we put in a really professional performance."
Buxton expects "full off beans" Villa side
Burton manager Jake Buxton spoke in his pre-match press conference of what type of squad he expects Aston Villa to field a strong side for tonight's clash, stating "Villa have progressed since we last played them (in 2018) gaining promotion from the Championship and then retaining their Premier League status.
"You are never sure how they will come out of the blocks, but they have signed a couple of new players and we expect them to be full off beans and right at it."
Match preview
Here is a comprehensive preview of today's match by my colleague Daniel Johnson.
Welcome, everyone!
Hello and welcome to VAVEL's live coverage of this second round EFL Cup tie between EFL League One side Burton Albion and Aston Villa of the Premier League.
My name is John Lupo and i'll be guiding you through all of the action today.
Kick-off time
Burton Albion vs Aston Villa will be played at the Pirelli Stadium in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England at 14:45 BST.