Brighton v Gillingham preview

Team news for Tuesday night's Carling Cup first-round clash between Brighton and Gillingham.

Brighton will check on Will Hoskins ahead of the visit of their old landlords Gillingham to the Amex Stadium. The striker, a summer signing from Bristol Rovers, missed Saturday's dramatic win over Doncaster with a hip injury and faces a fitness test ahead of kick-off. Player-coach Mauricio Taricco has been passed fit following a leg injury sustained in pre-season and could be involved. Defensive duo Tommy Elphick (Achilles) and Adam El-Abd (foot) are still sidelined but should be back next month. Boss Gus Poyet made wholesale changes for the cup competitions last season but has vowed to field a stronger side this time around. Full-back Romain Vincelot, a substitute on Saturday, could make his debut. Luke Rooney is suspended for Gillingham. The midfielder had only been on the pitch for 23 minutes when he was sent off in the closing stages of Saturday's 1-0 victory over Cheltenham for a challenge on Brian Smikle. Rooney will now miss the tie as he starts a three-match suspension. Striker Adam Birchall (cruciate knee ligament) is ruled out for at least the opening few months of the season while fellow forward Dennis Oli missed the opening game of the season at the weekend with a virus and will again sit out against the Seagulls. Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler told the club's official website: "We're taking it very seriously, it's a big game for us. "The pressure is on Brighton. I'm really looking forward to the game and having won on Saturday we want to keep that momentum going on Tuesday night. "We've got options in our squad so we could make changes but I'm not a massive fan of that. We can have seven subs so there will be a few more involved."