Brentford travel to Newport County on Tuesday night in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

Managed by Graham Coughlan, Newport finished 15th in Sky Bet League Two last season and overcame Charlton Athletic 3-1 to advance to this stage of the competition.

Chris Kirwan, sports writer for the South Wales Argus, takes us inside the County camp ahead of the Bees' visit to Rodney Parade.

What have you made of Newport’s start to the season?

It has been encouraging in terms of performances. They have played some quite positive, attractive football going forward, albeit having conceded a few sloppy goals along the way.

When they played Doncaster at home on 12 August and beat them 4-0, they showed just how good they can be; they were excellent that day.

The 3-0 defeat to Accrington on the opening day had fans a bit worried, but beating Doncaster showed the levels they are capable of hitting, especially so soon after they had beaten Charlton of League One in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

County reached the third round of the Carabao Cup last season and the fourth round in 2020/21. Every team loves to claim a scalp, so do you think Newport will be targeting an extended cup run again this year?

They always love a cup run and they need the money, even though the Carabao Cup is not quite as lucrative as the FA Cup.

At Rodney Parade, Newport have had some really good nights over the years and have pushed some good sides quite hard, putting aside one bad night against Southampton in 2021 when they lost 8-0.

Brentford will know they will need to be on it coming to Wales, which is an element of their exploits counting against them, I guess.

The club has made a several signings over the summer, with this being Graham Coughlan’s first full season in charge. How different does the team look this season?

He has continued from where he left off last season, but there has been a bit of a rebuild as, sadly, they lost four influential players to League Two rivals: Cameron Norman joined MK Dons, Aaron Lewis joined Mansfield, Mickey Demetriou joined Crewe and Priestley Farquharson joined Walsall.

They are still taking time to settle, but some of the signings look very good. In the spine of the team, Bryn Morris looks very accomplished and, behind him, the centre-back Ryan Delaney is an experienced player in the EFL and has all the attributes to be a good signing at the back.

The early signs are promising, but Coughlan will want a bit more.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on?

There is a selection, but I would say Adam Lewis down the left is a really lively wing-back.

He is on loan from Liverpool for a second season and it really gave the supporters a boost when he returned, to be honest, because he is probably a player that should be playing higher up.

He is energetic, but also strong in the tackle.

How is Coughlan likely to set up his side on Tuesday night?

Traditionally it has been a 3-5-2, but he has gone with a back four during games this season and has changed it up, so I think there will be an element of horses for courses.

He loaded midfield against Charlton in the first round because he knew that, man for man, they were better, so I would not be surprised if he did something similar against Brentford, with one up top.

This is the first meeting between the two teams since Newport were reformed in June 1989, with three Brentford wins and two draws in the five meetings prior to that. What’s your score prediction this time around?

I always have to go with County! I will say a 1-1 draw, with County to progress on penalties.