Milos Veljkovic unlikely to play vs. Nottingham Forest

Milos Veljkovic is one of Tottenham Hotspur's most promising young players and this looked like it may be the year he starts getting some looks with the first team. But it doesn't look like it is going to happen on Wednesday when Spurs take on Nottingham Forest in the Capital One Cup.

The 18-year-old started and played 90 minutes in the Tottenham U-21's match against Sunderland on Monday, presumably ruling him out of the first team match on Wednesday. It's tough to imagine him playing two matches in three days, despite the Capital One Cup looking to be the most likely competition for him to get into right now.

Veljkovic had an excellent preseason for Spurs and it looked like Mauricio Pochettino was happy with him. Toss in the fact that the club didn't send him out on loan and there was reason to believe he would get some chances. Thus far, they have not come, with just four minutes off of the bench in a Europa League qualifier making up the entirety of his first team football this season.

There is still plenty of time left for Veljkovic to make his way into the first team. The Europa League and Capital One Cups are just underway, and the FA Cup will kick in after the new year. With all of those matches, and the inevitable injuries, Veljkovic should be forced onto the field before long and, if he plays well, that could lead to more playing time.

If anything, it is becoming very clear that Pochettino isn't willing to throw away any competitions. He may not go with his very first choice team in the Europa League or Capital One Cup, but he's using senior team players and he's asking a lot of them so there isn't a competition in which youngsters are just going to get minutes and if Spurs lose, they lose. Unless Tottenham clinch advancement from the Europa League group stages early, every match will be taken seriously and everyone, Veljkovic included, will have to earn their playing time.