Newport County have developed something of a reputation as "giant killers" in recent times. Following last season's FA Cup heroics, the League Two side have started strongly in this season's EFL Cup. In the first round, they defeated Championship side Swansea City 1-0, following the success by a round two victory over Cambridge United.

Watford will be wary of Newport's cup pedigree, having scraped through a round two clash with Oxford United. A last minute Watford equaliser took the game to penalties, with the Championship side prevailing 3-0 on spot kicks.

Ones to watch

Experienced forward Ryan Taylor could prove the difference for Newport. The striker has netted in both of his side's league matches so far this season, in which Newport have taken four points from a possible six. 

Watford's defence is yet to be breached in their first two Championship games, steadied by experienced head Craig Cathcart. The centre half scored the winner in Watford's opening league match, and his presence was sorely missed as a youthful Watford side recorded an unconvincing victory in the previous round.

Team News

Newport have no pressing injury or suspensions to report.

Watford continue to miss some crucial squad players,with Gerard Delofeu and Daryl Janmaat still out with knee injuries. Etienne Capoue, Danny Welbeck and Will Hughes remain sidelined with continuing problems, whilst Isaac Success is out with an achilles problem.

Predicted lineups

Newport (3-5-2): King, Demetriou, Cooper, Howkins, Haynes, Twine, Sheehan, Willmott, Shephard, Taylor, Amond.

Watford (5-3-2): Bachmann, Agyakwa, Stevenson, Cathcart, Sierralta, Navarro, Quina, Chalobah, Phillips, Sinclair, Perica.

Managers' Comments

Speaking to BBC Sport Wales, Newport County manager Michael Flynn was happy with his side's 2-1 league win over Barrow at the weekend:

"It's gone from a good start (to the season) to a very good start, but it's just the beginning. There's a lot of hard work to do."

Watford boss Vladimir Ivic spoke to the Hertfordshire Mercury before Tuesday night's match, suggesting a similar team to the previous round would be used:

"It will be similar - we'll use some players from the U23s. Some players will be coming back after the summer break because of injury or quarantine but others will play who played in previous games."

How to watch

The only way to view this game is to purchase an ‘iFollow’ match pass via the Newport official website, or a match pass on ‘Hive Live’ can be purchased on the Watford official club website.

The game kicks off on Tuesday 22nd September, at 7pm BST.

 

VAVEL Logo
About the author