Sunderland will be without leading scorer Darren Bent for Tuesday night's Carling Cup clash against Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light.

Bent jolted a knee in the weekend defeat at Birmingham and will not be risked. Central defender John Mensah is out with a calf injury while full-back Phil Bardsley is unlikely to overcome a shoulder problem.

Lee Cattermole (knee ligaments) remains the club's only long-term injury victim.

Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey could make a rare start in the cup clash.

The England striker has struggled to displace Gabriel Agbonlahor and John Carew for much of the season, but Villa boss Martin O'Neill is likely to make changes against Steve Bruce's side.

Second-choice goalkeeper Brad Guzan is also likely to play after featuring in the majority of cup games since joining Villa 18 month ago. Luke Young, Fabian Delph, Nigel Reo-Coker, Nicky Shorey, Habib Beye and Craig Gardner come into contention, with O'Neill mindful of Villa having to play five games in 15 days.

Teams:

Sunderland (from): Gordon, Fulop, Bardsley, Da Silva, Nosworthy, Ferdinand, Turner, Richardson, McCartney, Reid, Malbranque, Cana, Henderson, Zenden, Campbell, Jones, Healy, Murphy.

Aston Villa (from): Friedel, Guzan, Cuellar, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Milner, Petrov, Sidwell, A Young, Agbonlahor, Carew, Heskey, L Young, Delph, Reo-Coker, Gardner, Shorey, Beye, Clark.