Gary Peters will turn to his Shrewsbury Town young guns as he looks to mastermind another giantkilling in tonight’s Carling Cup clash with Fulham.Teenagers Chris Humphrey, Steve Leslie and Jimmy Ryan all look set to start against the Premier League strugglers after impressing in the first-round victory over Colchester.

Goalkeeper Ryan Esson is also likely to return to the side, with Peters insisting they all deserve another chance to shine after their efforts against the Championship club earlier this month.

“These are players on the fringe of being in our side and, after a poor performance on Saturday (a 3-0 defeat at MK Dons) there are people who are eager to try and show their worth,” he said.

“They won against a Championship club in the last round, and some people would say that’s our best result of the season.

“Ryan Esson earned his right to play by getting us through the first round with a penalty save and just how much will that earn the club?

“I do things which, to some people, might look like we don’t care if we win or not in the cups, but that’s not the case.

Sugar

“The players I pick usually feel sharper and livelier than the ones who played on Saturday and they don’t want to be in the reserves all year.

“They get a lot of reserve games during the season and the Carling Cup and the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy are a little bit of sugar for them.”

Peters expects Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez to name a near-full strength side for the clash, much as Colchester did in the first round.

“Fulham are one of the clubs in with a chance of winning this cup and we’re not thinking along those lines ourselves,” he added.

“For the clubs like Fulham in the Premier League, who know they can’t win the title, this is a big event.

“This is their big chance (to win a trophy) and I think they will take it very seriously.

“Lawrie’s not had great results so far this season. Had he got a win or two I think he might have been able to experiment a bit more, but they will be desperate to win this game,” he added.

By Chris Hudson