Brentford's Carvalho and van den Berg Set for Carabao Cup Debut
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has confirmed that new signings Fábio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg will make their first starts for the Bees in the Carabao Cup clash against Colchester United on Wednesday.
Carvalho, who joined from Liverpool in the summer, has already made substitute appearances against Crystal Palace and his former club. Van den Berg, on loan from Liverpool, is yet to feature for Brentford.
Frank also revealed that midfielder Yunus Emre Konak and defender Ji-soo Kim will be included in the squad travelling to JobServe Community Stadium.
"Yunus was injured for three or four months, so he looked a little rusty at the beginning of pre-season," said Frank. "But he's picked up towards the end and I like what I'm seeing from him more and more."
"He's still adapting as he's come from the Turkish league. He's in the squad tomorrow, so let's see if he's starting or not."
Frank added: "Ji-soo had a really good pre-season and impressed me with his performances. He's also in the squad tomorrow, so we'll see what happens."
"Both of them are players I can't see going out on loan right now. I think the best thing for them is to train with us and get used to our principles and intensity."
Frank stressed the importance of avoiding complacency against Colchester, a League Two side with a history of causing upsets in this competition, having reached the quarter-final in 2019/20.
"We respect everyone," said Frank. "A cup game is extremely difficult, and we'll take it seriously. We really want to go on a cup run."
"Danny Cowley [Colchester's manager] is a well-organised coach. He's got a long career behind him; he achieved some fantastic things with Lincoln City and I thought he did well at Huddersfield in many aspects."
"He'll set his team up well and he'll do everything he can to disrupt us and try to win the game. We need to be on our game. It's up to us to perform and show our best, and if we do that we'll win the game."
"We lost to Gillingham after a penalty shootout and drew with Newport before winning on penalties, so I'm fully aware of the challenge ahead. It will be very difficult."
Brentford will be aiming to secure their place in the next round of the Carabao Cup as they look to build momentum after a strong start to the Premier League season. The game promises to be a test for Frank's squad, but with several new faces ready to make their mark, Brentford will be confident of progressing.
