Mark Hughes has revealed that he intends to go with a "strong" starting lineup as Stoke City travel to Bristol City in round three of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.
The Potters, whose four-game unbeaten run came to an end at the weekend, are looking to prolong their run in the competition to the last-16 stage.
Stoke take on Chelsea in the Premier League next Saturday and will therefore rotate slightly, but Hughes insists that the team he puts out at Ashton Gate will be strong enough to get the job done.
"There are a couple of players we feel we need to give a game, but we will still go strong," he told the club's official website. "It is important that we progress in the competition, so we want to have a good run in it this season if we can.
"Kurt Zouma can't play on Saturday against Chelsea so he will be involved and we will go there with a team strong enough to give it a really good go."
Glen Johnson, Charlie Adam and Peter Crouch are all in contention to start, but captain Ryan Shawcross and Geoff Cameron are still recovering from injury.
Daniel Lewis
