AITOR Karanka insists his players will not be distracted by Tuesday’s Capital One Cup tie at Liverpool when Brentford visit the Riverside Stadium this afternoon.

The Teessiders can make it three league wins on the trot against the Bees after back-to-back away wins at Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City.

There is a danger the prospect of being part of a mouth-watering trip to Anfield to face last season’s Premier League runners–up could be on the players’ minds, but Karanka insists his squad is focused on their league duties.

Two consecutive wins have moved Boro up to ninth in the Championship table and a third could see them leap into the top six this evening.

Newly-promoted Brentford have enjoyed a solid start to life in the second tier with Mark Warburton’s side lying one point and two placed behind Middlesbrough.

The Teessiders have lost their last two game at the Riverside, and instead of getting distracted by the thought of lining up against Liverpool, Karanka hopes his players will see today’s game as a chance to cement their place in his team.

“I don’t think I will have any problems (focusing),” insisted the Spaniard. “I think they are intelligent. They know what has happened in our last two games at home.

“For this reason I don’t think any of the players are thinking about playing at Anfield on Tuesday. The first thing is to play against Brentford at home.

“If we lose this Saturday it will be another step back. Now we are in a very good way and we have to keep going with the same intensity and the same consistency. I have the squad to make some changes.

“I am thinking about Saturday. I will not spend one second thinking about the Liverpool game because it is the following one.

“The most important game is Brentford. On Saturday at 5:30pm I can start to work on the Liverpool game and it will be the same for the players.”

Karanka has hinted he will make changes to his team this afternoon to keep his squad fresh.

Ryan Fredericks will come in for injured Damia Abella, who faces six months out with a serious knee injury, while Ben Gibson could return in place of Daniel Ayala, who is also unavailable.

There could be more changes on top of those two, but Karanka admits he is trying to be careful with certain players.

Jelle Vossen could start alongside Kike again, but fellow deadline day signing Yanic Wildschut may have to wait longer.

The Dutch winger was an unused substitute in the wins at Huddersfield and Cardiff, and the Boro head coach revealed he is waiting for the right time to unleash the former Heerenveen man.

He said: “He is the kind of player that I want to careful to give him the right opportunity.

“He was on the bench for the Huddersfield and Cardiff games and was the player I had in mind to bring on if we had scored a second goal. We didn’t, but he is training very well. He needs to settle in.

“I will have to be intelligent and give the players the right steps. If we make one mistake, maybe it’s not one little mistake, it’s one big mistake.

“We have seven months ahead of us and we have to be careful with the players. The best example for me is Adam Clayton.

“He is someone who knew this league and knew the team and now he is a different player. He arrived here one month ago and it is difficult for him to settle in. It is even more difficult for players coming from abroad.”