In a day where Nottingham Forest were hoping to make their first quarter-final in almost 25 years, they fell miserably short. 

Sandwiched between two huge games, against Leeds last Saturday and Sheffield United this Saturday, this may have been seen as an easy game to manager Aitor Karanka.

The Spaniard changed ten players from the one that drew against Marcelo Bielsa's men on Saturday evening, against a Burton team that are in the bottom half of League One.

However, a lacklustre performance from players hoping to impress Karanka saw them lose 3-2 and see their quarter-final hopes crash down in tatters. While barely anyone put in an impressive performance, there were some glimmers of hope.

Forest's 17-year-old Arvin Appiah made his debut in that match and was very impressive. The England under-18 international looked dangerous after entering the fray with a few minutes remaining, and was rewarded with a goal after an elusive run down the right side of the pitch.

While it seems unlikely that the player will feature much for The Reds this season, given their sizeable squad, this is certainly a player for the future and one that fans should be on the alert for.

Unfortunately, most fans would also agree that his performance, although brief, was one of the only encouraging signs to come from that game.

Another squad overhaul is expected for Sheffield's visit to The City Ground this Saturday, as Karanka will be looking to right his wrongs. Only then would it be clear if the manager's midweek experiment has paid off.