Aston Villa's Cup Clash with Tottenham Is a Chance for Lambert to Experiment

In recent years, the Capital One Cup has been a successful competition for Aston Villa. Nonetheless, manager Paul Lambert faces a selection dilemma ahead of Tuesday's cup clash with Tottenham Hotspur. 

Villa, under Martin O'Neill, made the League Cup final in 2009-10 when they were narrowly defeated by Manchester United at Wembley.

Three years later, Lambert's new-look Villa side made it to the semi-finals of the same competition where they were shockingly eliminated by League Two team Bradford City. 

While these recent results suggest that the Capital One Cup is a fruitful endeavor, Lambert may be better off by using Tuesday's match as an opportunity to rotate and experiment with his current squad rather than fielding his most proven players.

The Scottish manager admitted that his options have been limited through injury as he spoke to Aston Villa's official website ahead of the cup tie. 

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I've got to make changes for tomorrow, that's for sure, because I've got a lot of injuries at the minute and Saturday's [game against Manchester City] is massive for us as well.

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Lambert confirmed that eight first-team regulars, as well as long-term absentees Jores Okore and Charles N'Zogbia, were likely to miss Tuesday's match.

With so many crucial players unfit, it is important that Lambert not risk the fitness of his players carrying minor injuries, such as Gabby Agbonlahor, Antonio Luna and Fabian Delph. 

Resting these first-team players helps prevent them from joining Villa's growing injured list and will allow them to be fresh for Saturday's match with Manchester City.

Equally important to resting these players is to take Tuesday's game as an opportunity to experiment with untested players or tactical options.

For example, Villa have played primarily with a single striker for the majority of Lambert's tenure as manager. While the team's goalscoring record has vindicated Lambert's decision in this area, he would be wise not to rest on his laurels.

Although the failed partnership of Darren Bent and Christian Benteke may have soured Lambert to playing two central strikers, the match against Spurs is the perfect chance to test his new players in such a formation.

Summer signings Libor Kozak and Nicklas Helenius could be played together as a forward partnership, gauging either player's potential to supplement Christian Benteke upon his return from injury.

As similarly massive as the three strikers are, they all possess unique strengths that could play off of each other if combined effectively.

Pairing the physical, shoot-first Kozak with the more technical and tentative Helenius will give Lambert valuable tactical insight into both players' roles in the team.

Similarly, Lambert could change his approach in fielding converted strikers out wide in favor of more traditional wingers.

For the majority of 2013, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann have found themselves consistently starting as the wide players in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation.

While both men have adapted ably to their new roles, a combination of midfielders Leandro Bacuna, Marc Albrighton and Aleksandar Tonev could offer wide support from the flanks for a pair of strikers instead.

While he impressed as a right-back in Saturday's win at Norwich, Bacuna has more experience playing higher up the pitch and he could find more consistent playing time in such a position.

Albrighton has failed to impress Lambert over the last year and the English winger could prey on this opportunity to prove he still has a place in the team. His crossing is particularly valuable given Villa's stable of tall forwards.

Tonev, who was very wasteful and Villa's worst performer against Norwich, could take the chance to redeem himself and reward Lambert's faith for selecting him on the weekend by offering a more composed performance.

Finally, Lambert could use Tuesday's game to re-evaluate the progress of several players who were regular starters last season that have seen less action so far this year.

Joe Bennett, Villa's first-choice left-back last season, has lost his place in the team to Antonio Luna. Despite a number of mishaps in his first year for Villa, Bennett is a young player who could still improve through continued in-game experience.

Yacouba Sylla and Nathan Baker have both had injuries stall the start to their seasons. The youngsters could see returns to the starting XI on Tuesday, in central midfield and defense respectively.

Matthew Lowton, one of Villa's most consistent performers last season, has had a rough start to the year and the right-back was benched for the first time in his Villa career against Norwich. A good performance from Lowton on Tuesday would help the Englishman get back on track.

While recent close calls in the Capital One Cup may implore Lambert to field his best available players, the manager would be wise to resist this urge.

Fielding an experimental lineup featuring at least several of the aforementioned players will put Aston Villa in the best position for not just Saturday's game with Manchester City but also for the rest of the 2013-14 season.