9 players set to miss Coventry City v Aston Villa ft £17m star | OneFootball

A look at the nine confirmed absentees as Coventry City face Aston Villa in the third round of the EFL Cup.

The third round of the EFL Cup continues this midweek and one of the most intriguing ties is an all-midlands affair between two teams that are still winless in the Premier League.

Following their romp to the Championship title last season, Coventry City have begun the campaign woefully in the top-flight with Frank Lampard surely already getting concerned about what their next 34 matches have in store.

Having gotten away with a fairly forgivable 3-0 loss to defending champions Arsenal on the opening day, Coventry then lost 1-0 to last year’s play-off winners Hull City before a competitive but toothless 1-0 loss to Manchester City and then a 5-0 demolition at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend.

Aston Villa won the UEFA Europa League last season and finished fourth in the Premier League but Unai Emery has seen his squad almost torn apart with the sales of Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins.

Villa began with defeats to Brighton and then Arsenal in their first couple of games before a goalless draw with Hull and then a 2-1 defeat this weekend at home to Nottingham Forest with Igor Jesus scoring a late winner for Forest.

Unlike a lot of EFL Cup third round ties, this verges on must win, or at least must compete, for both teams and so rotation may not be too heavy – but this is a look at the players that will definitely miss out at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Coventry City

Luke Woolfenden

In his pre-match press conference ahead of the defeat to Brighton, Frank Lampard confirmed that Luke Woolfenden would not be expected back until after the international break as he continues to work his way back from a knee injury.

Kaine Kesler-Hayden

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Having been in the squad in their opening couple of games, former Villa full-back Kaine Kesler-Hayden has been unavailable for the last few weeks due to a thigh injury and Lampard also confirmed he is not expected back until a similar time as Woolfenden will return.

Josh Eccles

A third player that Lampard suggested would not be available until the international break has been and gone is midfielder Josh Eccles, with the 26-year-old having featured in Coventry’s 4-2 defeat of Plymouth Argyle in the second round of the cup at Home Park last month.

Taiwo Awoniyi

Having arrived from Nottingham Forest for £17m as the star signing up-front, Taiwo Awoniyi scored in that victory over The Pilgrims but is now sidelined for about a month due to a red card picked up against Brighton earning him a three-match suspension.

Haji Wright

United States international striker Haji Wright also remains unavailable for The Sky Blues, having sustained a thigh injury just before the season began and he is not expected back until around mid-November.

Aston Villa

Pau Torres

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Unai Emery also has fresh issues to deal with for this one as Spain international centre-back was forced off early on against Forest due to a hamstring injury and so is now expected to be sidelined for a while.

Ian Maatsen

Another key man in the new look Villa is and has been Ian Maatsen but the former Coventry loanee will miss his return to Coventry as he has sustained an ankle injury that Emery described as potentially keeping him out for ‘maybe a long, long time.’

Amadou Onana

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Belgium international midfielder Amadou Onana sustained an ACL injury while playing for The Red Devils at FIFA World Cup 2026 this summer and so he remains sidelined for the visitors.