GK: Sam Slocombe
It’s the only choice really, isn’t it? We won’t risk Josh and Grant Smith is out on loan, so that leaves is with just one choice; Sam Slocombe.
It’s not a terrible choice either, Sam is an experienced keeper who we’ve seen little of but a word of caution; tomorrow could be his last start for us. If we go out of the competition he’ll be back on the bench and if Vickers is injured, we’ll recall Grant Smith.
CB: Scott Wharton
I’d definitely start Wharton tomorrow evening, without a doubt. He’s a qualifying player as the Blackburn Academy is category one, plus he’s a good player in his own right.
He’s been so unlucky with Jason Shackell joining and keeping him out of the side and I strongly suspect he’ll end up leaving in January to seek proper football somewhere else, but tomorrow I’d play him at centre back, no doubt at all.
If we’re going to experiment, why not try a 3-5-2, with Wharton playing on the left side of a back three.
CB: Adam Crookes
The Forest youngster hasn’t broken into the first team picture at all this season, instead limited to appearances in the EFL Trophy and there’s little to suggest he’ll miss out tomorrow.
Crookes has bene playing as a full back, but he can play right back as well as centre back. I’d be interested to see him on the right side of the back three, without the responsibility for attacking as much, but part of a functioning defence.
CB: James Wilson
With his return from suspension, it is surely time to see James Wilson in his favoured centre back role.
His Imps career has faltered a little and he’s often seen filling a variety of roles. Tomorrow evening, we’d love to see him in the middle of a back three.
Earlier editions of the article did have him down as being suspended, but he isn’t. My bad.
Toffolo has played centre back before with Norwich City.
I don’t often disagree with your reasoning behind selection but, all I would say is that winning becomes a habit and with a win in our last outing after three recent draws I think we should stick pretty close to our strongest side. Playing twice a week is not a chore and if you speak to the players they’ll tell you that playing on a Tuesday is far better than any training session. It being a Tuesday fixture gives plenty of time to recover for the weekend. So leaving players out to save them for Saturday makes no sense to me. By all means include different players if there are injuries or if there’s a need to replace someone who’s out of form or to try a different formation, but, just to give players who may not be with us by the end of January a game, just doesn’t make sense. I grant you that the Checkatrade Trophy is not everyone’s cup of tea but, it does bring in welcome revenue and doesn’t involve many extra matches, dependent upon who we draw in the FA cup we might be pleased to have another competition to follow.