Robins given few selection headaches after cup exit

Stoke's Carabao Cup exit to Bradford City will probably go down as a missed opportunity for a number of the players brought in by Mark Robins to a team showing 10 changes from the one that won at Southampton at the weekend.

The Potters are flying in the league and have been fielding a consistent XI for the most part leaving one or two fit players stuck on the outside looking in.

The tie against Bradford was an early-season chance for those involved to give Robins a problem when he sits down to pick a team for Saturday's Championship game against West Bromwich Albion and food for thought for the international break.

In truth, nobody really made the most of that chance as Stoke slumped to a 3-0 defeat.

There were positives. A debut for teenager Chinonso Chibueze and game time for other young players in Favour Fawunmi, Jaden Mears and Will Smith will help their development and shows a pathway to the first team from the under-21s exists.

There were also minutes for more senior players in need of them.

Highly-rated centre-back Maksym Taloveirov finally made his debut after signing in the summer and fellow summer recruit Robert Bozenik played the whole game.

Jamie Donley and Ashley Phillips also got valuable time on the pitch.

In the end, a makeshift side couldn't match a Bradford team in good form in League One.

As a team, this XI may never play together again but few individuals did their first-team prospects any favours either.

It's a minor setback for a Potters squad who have made a great start to the season overall and Robins will enter the final weekend before the international break without too many selection dilemmas to solve.