Emile Smith Rowe, Arsenal
It is something of a curiosity that Smith Rowe has appeared three times in the Bundesliga during a loan with RB Leipzig and scored twice in the Europa League for Arsenal, but has yet to play a minute in England’s top flight. The 19-year-old is not far off though and Unai Emery has given him an active role in Arsenal’s cup games. Had it not been for a concussion sustained in the third round against Nottingham Forest he might have featured more this season but he has shown enough to suggest a stage such as Anfield will not faze him. Smith-Rowe, a rangy figure at 6ft, can operate on the flanks or in an attacking midfield role and is a positive, incisive influence who never shies from receiving the ball and trying to make things happen. His movement between the lines will be a test for Liverpool’s defensive players if he features on Wednesday. Nick Ames
Marc Guehi, Chelsea
Born in Ivory Coast, the 19-year-old centre-back moved to England as a child and has called Chelsea home for a long time. Guehi, captain of the England team that won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, is one of Chelsea’s most promising youngsters and Frank Lampard has not hesitated to have him around the first team squad. The England Under-21 international made his debut in last month’s 7-1 win over Grimsby Town and did not look out of his depth physically, standing up well to the League One side’s burly striker James Hanson. Having made the bench in a couple of league games since then, Guehi will hope to start against Manchester United on Wednesday. Jacob Steinberg
James Justin, Leicester City
As the deputy to the excellent Ricardo Pereira, this right-back has to be patient. But his performance in his only appearance so far for Leicester suggested Justin has a bright future while alluding to his successful past – because in the previous round of the Carabao Cup he played brilliantly in a 4-0 win at his former club, Luton Town, whose supporters hold him in such high regard that they chanted “he’s one of our own” when Justin got his name on the scoreboard for Leicester. If the 21-year-old plays against Burton, look out for more solid defending and speedy runs from the back. Paul Doyle
Harvey Elliott, Liverpool
Liverpool’s summer signing from Fulham is available to make his first senior appearance at Anfield having completed a 14-day ban on Friday for mocking Harry Kane in a social media video. The 16-year-old is the youngest player to appear in the Premier League and the League Cup, the latter as a 15-year-old against Millwall in September 2018, and has made an immediate impression on the pitch for Liverpool. The winger made his competitive debut for Jürgen Klopp’s team in the last round at MK Dons and continued his excellent form at youth level in the Uefa Youth League win at Genk last week (his FA ban applied to domestic matches only). Andy Hunter
Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Manchester City
When the 17-year-old centre-back made his debut in the 3-0 win at Preston in the previous round the City fan lived the dream of the boy who was at the Etihad to witness Sergio Agüero’s unforgetable late winner against Queens Park Rangers that clinched the 2011-12 title. Pep Guardiola admires Harwood-Bellis’s ball skills and a relish for tackling that the 6ft 2in defender says has only “developed in the last four or five years”. Harwood-Bellis, who was composed at Deepdale, is yet to completehis physical development. “I have probably got another inch left to grow, and in the next few years I will fill out into being a man,” he says. Jamie Jackson
Brandon Williams, Manchester United
The left-back was declared man of the match by Ole Gunnar Solskjær for an accomplished display in the win at Partizan Belgrade in only a second start. The 19-year-old is right-footed but with his fair hair and “fearlessness” his manager sees shades of Stuart Pearce in the boy from Crumpsall. Williams’s chance has come because of Luke Shaw’s injury and he has seized it. His debut was an eye-catching second half of the Carabao Cup shootout win over Rochdale, his full bow coming in the goalless draw at AZ. He is yet to experience the Premier League but it will be a surprise if he does not start at Chelsea. JJ
Taylor Perry, Wolves
The 18-year-old midfielder was voted Wolves’ scholar of the year last season and was included in the senior team’s pre-season trip to China, where he scored a penalty in the friendly win over Manchester City. He has continued to train regularly with the senior team – in addition to playing for the Under-23s – and made his competitive debut against Reading in the last round of the Carabao Cup. His temperament and quality on the ball also convinced Nuno Espírito Santo to include him in the squad that travelled to Slovan Bratislava for last week’s Europa League win. PD
Domingos Quina
In Quina and Tom Dele-Bashiru Watford have two outstanding young central midfielders with the former – who turns 20 in November – younger by a couple of months but also closer to the first team, having made eight league appearances last season. His two appearances in this campaign, both in the Carabao Cup, came before their recent tactical switch to Quique Sánchez Flores’s currently favoured 5-3-2 formation. But the son of former Portugal international Samuel Quina’s willingness to carry the ball forwards, his range of passing and his long-range shooting make him an excellent candidate for the role in the centre of the midfield three, occupied in recent league games by Tom Cleverley, that allows greater freedom to foray.