Alex midfielder, Paul Green, says that a cup tie against Premier League opponents, Aston Villa, can be the perfect springboard for the club’s younger players to showcase their talent.

Crewe Alexandra host Dean Smith side at Gresty Road in the second round of the Carabao Cup and Green feels that another bumper crowd inside the stadium could improve performances once again.

Crewe have already beaten Middlesbrough in the first round at the Riverside Stadium following a deserved penalty shoot-out victory.

Ahead of the visit of the Villans, Green told crewealex.net: “In football you wait for days and nights like these where you get to play against top teams with top players. I have been lucky enough to do that in my career and you still get excited for games like this.

“It is a big opportunity for us and it will be great for the fans. We know it would be a major upset if a League Two team knocked out a Premier League team but there are always some shocks and that is what we have to believe.

“We had a tough game away at Middlesbrough but deserved to win that game in normal time. They then chuck everything at us and get that late goal so we needed penalties in the win but I think everyone thought we deserved to win the game.

He added: “Playing against Aston Villa is a great stage for our younger players to show what they can do. It is a chance for them to make a few headlines and impress and hopefully we can play to our levels and surprise one or two people again.”