Jhon Duran has scored five goals in seven appearances this season
A much-changed Aston Villa reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup despite an underwhelming performance at League One Wycombe Wanderers.
Unai Emery's fringe players struggled to impress before Emiliano Buendia's looping 56th-minute header set the Premier League club on their way.
Emery made 10 changes in total but still had Ian Maatsen, whose last competitive start was for Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley in June, and Jhon Duran in the starting line-up.
Duran has been in red-hot form off the bench this season, scoring four times in five substitute appearances in the Premier League.
But the 20-year-old Colombian striker fired wide when clean through in the opening minute before making it 2-0 in the 85th-minute from the penalty spot after he adjudged to have been brought down.
Wycombe were lively and had chances of their own, Kieran Sadlier firing straight at goalkeeper Joe Gauci, who produced a nervy performance on his senior debut, while Garath McCleary was denied by Gauci before Duran doubled Villa's lead.
They did manage a late consolation when substitute Richard Kone scored in stoppage time.
Villa's fringe players struggle to impress
With Villa in the Champions League this season, Emery made it clear on the eve of the tie that the EFL Cup was low on his list of priorities.
This time last week they were in Switzerland in Europe's top-tier competition while Bayern Munich visit next Wednesday for what promises to be a special night under the Villa Park lights.
Yet while they continue to impress in the Premier League and Europe, Villa made heavy weather of seeing off Wycombe in their first game in this season's EFL Cup.
The League One club deserve credit for pushing their opponents and thoroughly deserved their consolation goal at the end.
It was a laboured Villa performance and they will have to improve if they want to go deep in the competition as they chase a first major trophy since winning the League Cup in 1996.
Villa's cause was not helped when Brazilian defender Diego Carlos was injured in the warm-up, forcing a late change on a young and inexperienced substitutes' bench.
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