Joey Barton reveals his plans for Sunderland and the key man who could feature for Fleetwood Town

Both sides have already sealed progression to the knockout stages of the competition, although the group winner will benefit from a home tie in the next round.

And Barton – like Parkinson – has confirmed he will use the game to hand opportunities to fringe players.

That includes former Liverpool and Rangers midfielder Jordan Rossiter who, having been sidelined with a long-term injury, is in-line to make his return this evening.

“We’ve already progressed in the EFL Trophy so I’ll probably play the young lads and the lads who need minutes on Tuesday night,” said Barton, speaking to Fleetwood Today.

“I’ll give the lads who have played the main body of games a bit of a freshen up before Bristol Rovers next Saturday.

“Jordy (Rossiter) has had a year out and it was tempting to put him on the bench at Hull but I just felt it was a little unfair on the lads who have been fit and in there.

“I just felt that if I was going to bring Jordan into a game I’d rather him do the warm-up and start it, rather than a quick warm-up and then on with 10 or 15 minutes to go.

“We wanted him back with the group so he could get that feeling of travelling again and being part of it.

“I think it’s a big boost for the lads having him around the dressing room again and knowing what a character he is.

“Before the injury last season I would say he was arguably one of our most important players.

“Hopefully he comes back. He looks in great shape and he’ll be like a new signing for us.”

Both clubs will be governed by the competition’s squad selection rules, which mean they must field at least four ‘Qualifying Players’.

But the rules are fairly lenient, with even some of Sunderland’s young players fulfilling the quota.

The [selection] rules are quite forgiving, we've looked at those and players like Jack Diamond and Elliot Embleton count as senior players," said Parkinson.

"There will be a couple of first-teamers involved, but the rest of the starting XI and the bench will all be young lads."

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