Gillingham take on Championship side Swansea City in the Carabao Cup first round – Manager Mark Bonner set to rotate players ahead of Morecambe game in League 2

Gillingham’s management will have a weekend trip to Morecambe on their minds when selecting the team to take on Swansea tonight.

A trip to Wales is the first stop of a mammoth few weeks for the Gills as they follow that with games at Morecambe and Fleetwood in successive weekends - racking up 1,000 miles in the process.

Swansea away in the first round of the Carabao Cup wasn’t a draw many fans will have welcomed but Gills manager Mark Bonner will pick a team to give it their best shot.

Bonner’s already said he’s likely to be leaving midfielder Armani Little behind after a full match against Carlisle United on Saturday, having only just returned to fitness.

Weekend injuries for Conor Masterson and Tim Dieng could rule them out too.

“I think a lot of the boys who haven’t played (on Saturday) will play,” said the manager.

“We’ll definitely get minutes into those because otherwise, they are too far away from their last big minutes in pre-season.

“In one sense, it is an extension of pre-season for us, to get those players fit and up to speed because we need them but it is a tough game, we know that.

“It is also an opportunity for us to go and test ourselves in an unbelievable stadium against a top, top team so it will be what it will be.”

Swansea lost 1-0 at Middlesbrough in their opening game of the Championship season on Saturday.

Head coach of the Swans is Luke Williams, who took Notts County back to the Football League before moving to South Wales in January, leading them to a 14th place finish.

Williams – who left Notts sitting fifth in the table last season – will be hoping to bring some more success to a club who had been battling against relegation for much of last season. The club are in their seventh successive