New Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier will check on the fitness of central defender Richard Dunne before finalising his side for tomorrow's home Carling Cup clash with Blackburn.
Dunne had to be substituted at half-time during the weekend draw with visiting Bolton with a knee problem.
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If he is ruled out, then Carlos Cuellar is a strong candidate to replace the former Manchester City player.
Winger Stewart Downing suffered a gashed shin against Bolton but is expected to be fit. Villa reached the final of the competition last season and knocked Blackburn out of the FA Cup and Carling Cup.
Houllier has fond memories of the League Cup as it provided him with his first major trophy with Liverpool in 2001. He intends to rotate some of the players against Blackburn but insists the competition will be taken seriously.
He said: "We will not be putting out a lesser side. It will be a good side. I will rotate some of the players and I will not be the only manager to have done that.
"The League Cup was the first trophy I won at Liverpool and, if you win five games, you are at Wembley.
"We all know the club is desperate for some silverware. We want that and to reach a high position in the league. That is what we are here for."
Houllier is delighted to be linking up with McAllister, who played under him at Liverpool, and Cowans, who won the European Cup with Villa in 1982.
He said: "I trust Gary and he knows how I want to play while Gordon is a hero here and I was pleased when he said he would like to work with me."
Martin Olsson is back in contention for Blackburn. Olsson, who scored against Villa in the semi-final of the competition last season, has been nursing a shoulder problem but is in line to return to the Rovers team.
Ryan Nelsen played in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Fulham having had a painkilling injection in his foot and will be rested, along with Vince Grella, who picked up a hamstring injury in that game.
David Dunn, Keith Andrews and Jason Roberts are also sidelined. Sam Allardyce admits that although the Barclays Premier League has to be Blackburn's priority this season, he is more excited by the prospect of a cup final than that of playing in Europe.
A push for European football may not be beyond Rovers this term if they can improve upon their 10th-placed finish in the 2009-10 campaign. Allardyce's side also reached the Carling Cup semi-finals, where they were beaten over two legs by Aston Villa.
The manager knows that progress in the league must be the club's main objective, but Allardyce would love to go one better in the cup and earn a trip to Wembley he feels would potentially be more special than any journey across the continent.
"My priority every year is about finishing as high as we can - Premier League first, those are my instructions from my bosses," Allardyce said.
"Anything else over and above that is a bonus, but I've always said from an ambition point of view and just from a pure football point of view, everybody wants to get to a cup final.
"For me, it's probably more exciting getting to a cup final than it is competing in Europe.
"If you get to a cup final you could be up there on the rostrum picking the trophy up and that stays with you for the rest of your life."
Source: DSG
Source: DSG