Birmingham Brentford League Cup: teams, kick-off, H2H
Birmingham Brentford Carabao Cup action lands Tuesday at St Andrew's (8pm BST, Sky Sports+), with Callum Wilson, Jaidon Anthony and Jannik Schuster making their first competitive Brentford starts. Championship hosts Birmingham remain unbeaten this season after beating Swansea in round one, while the Bees arrive fresh from a 3-0 Premier League win over Tottenham.
Keith Andrews has heavily rotated after Saturday's Spurs result. Only Nathan Collins, Vitaly Janelt and Dango Ouattara retain their places from that starting XI, according to confirmed team news.
Key Takeaways
- Birmingham Brentford meet in Carabao Cup round two at St Andrew's, kick-off 8pm BST on Sky Sports+.
- Wilson, Anthony and summer signing Schuster start for Brentford for the first time competitively; Schuster makes his debut.
- Chris Davies' Blues are unbeaten in three games after a 1-0 League Cup win at Swansea and Championship draws with Sheffield United and Bristol City.
- Referee Tim Robinson takes charge; a memorable prior meeting saw Brentford thrash Birmingham 5-0 in the Championship in February 2018.
What is the Birmingham Brentford kick-off and TV info?
Brentford begin their Carabao Cup campaign away to Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Tuesday night. Kick-off is 8pm BST, with the tie live on Sky Sports+.
The Bees travel after an impressive 3-0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur. Birmingham, managed by Chris Davies, sit unbeaten across their first three fixtures of the season.
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Which confirmed teams start in Birmingham Brentford?
According to Yahoo Sports team news and BBC line-ups, both sides line up in a 4-2-3-1.
Birmingham: Allsop; Osayi-Samuel, Klarer, Fry, Lund; Solís, Paik; Vicente, Fujimoto, Gray; Vázquez. Substitutes include Beadle, Laird, Neumann, Cochrane, Iwata, Roberts, Stansfield, Ducksch and Priske.
Brentford: Valdimarsson; Hickey, Collins, Schuster, Henry; Janelt, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard; Ouattara, Wilson, Anthony. Bench options include Kelleher, Kayode, Ajer, Lewis-Potter, Jensen, Carvalho, Sangaré, Schade and Igor Thiago.
Wilson, Anthony and Schuster all joined this summer. Andrews said Wilson would "certainly feature" again after a substitute debut against Spurs, praising how quickly he has got up to speed.
The other eight Spurs starters are on the bench, including club-record signing Mamadou Sangaré. Fábio Carvalho is also among the substitutes and could make his first competitive first-team appearance since injuring his ACL last November.
Why does Birmingham Brentford matter in the League Cup?
Last season Brentford reached the last eight of the competition before losing 2-0 to Manchester City. Andrews has signalled squad depth will be used across three games in nine days.
Birmingham finished 10th in the Championship last term after winning League One as runaway champions in 2024/25. Their only win this season so far came via August Priske's goal in a 1-0 League Cup first-round success against Swansea City.
Playmaker Stats analysis on the club site notes Brentford scored nine Premier League goals from fast breaks last season—more than any side—while Birmingham have been hard to beat at home across recent seasons.
One standout prior meeting was Brentford's 5-0 Championship win at Griffin Park on 20 February 2018, with goals involving Ollie Watkins, Florian Jozefzoon, Neal Maupay and a Marc Roberts own goal. Full preview detail is on the official Brentford FC match preview.
Officials: referee Tim Robinson, assistants Andrew Dallison and Darren Williams, fourth official Zac Kennard-Kettle.