/ Andy Naylor, Chief sports reporter
Albion boss Chris Hughton is keeping his selection options open in the League Cup.
First team regulars have been rested so far, as Hughton has used the competition to give youngsters senior experience and game time for more established players coming back from injury.
Connor Goldson, Uwe Huenemeier, Steve Sidwell and Ollie Norwood will all feature against Championship rivals Reading in the third round at the Amex tonight.
A place in the last 16 awaits the victors, which would edge Albion closer to their best-ever performance in 1978-79, when they reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual winners Nottingham Forest.
Hughton’s policy could shift if Albion make further progress, especially as the league fixture list becomes less congested after the next international break.
He told The Argus: “I’m not committed to anything, I want competition. In general terms, for anybody any thought of a quarter-final is serious business but you can never think that far ahead.
“For us at the moment, we’ve got a lot of fit players and it’s a really good opportunity for games and competition, so we’re delighted to still be in it.”
Hughton is keen to build on the feel-good factor created by back-to-back 1-0 wins against leaders Huddersfield and Burton Albion in the Championship, irrespective of the team he picks.
“We would like the outcome to be exactly the same,” he said. “We want to go into Saturday’s game (home to Barnsley) on the back of a win and further progress in the cup.
“It’s a competition we want to go further in. We’re at home on the back of two good performances and we want to go through again.”
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