Stoke manager Tony Pulis has made no secret of the fact he will start with a second string line-up in Tuesday night's Carling Cup tie at Portsmouth.

Striker Mamady Sidibe, who played an hour of a reserve match last week, is set to make his first senior appearance since undergoing surgery on a damaged cruciate ligament seven months ago.

Tuncay, who is yet to start in the Premier League for Stoke almost two months after a £5million move from Middlesbrough, will also be in a line-up likely to include Dave Kitson, Liam Lawrence and Danny Higginbotham.

Portsmouth will be without cup-tied quartet Kevin-Prince Boateng, Jamie O'Hara, Mike Williamson and Tommy Smith.

However midfielder Michael Brown returns from suspension after sitting out the Hull draw following a red card against Tottenham on October 17.

Hermann Hreidarsson is still recovering from a foot tendon injury, while Papa Bouba Diop and Richard Hughes have hamstring and hip troubles respectively.

Teams:

Portsmouth (from): James, Kaboul, Mokoena, Mullins, Utaka, Kanu, Basinas, Belhadj, Vanden Borre, Piquionne, Ben-Haim, Yebda, Dindane, Finnan, Webber, Brown, Wilson, Ashdown.

Stoke (from): Simonsen, Griffin, Cort, Higginbotham, Pugh, Lawrence, Arismendi, Tonge, Tuncay, Kitson, Sidibe, Soares, Wedderburn, Sorensen, Wilkinson, Fuller, Etherington, Beattie, Collins.