Had Steve Cotterill been invited to hand-pick his third round Carling Cup tie, it's a fair assumption that Aston Villa at Villa Park would not have been his first choice for a number of reasons.

Playing Premiership opposition is always a tricky proposition for those clubs not in the top flight. Playing Premiership opposition on their own patch only serves to make matters yet more difficult.

But there are a couple of other reasons why Burnley may find tonight's task even tougher than might usually be the case. Cast your mind back twelve months. It's exactly a year ago that the Clarets outclassed Villa at Turf Moor, thumping the visitors 3-0.

Burnley were superior in every department as they sent the Premiership outfit back down the M6 with their tails firmly between their legs.

For those Burnley players involved on the night, it's a terrific memory. The problem is, David O'Leary and his charges will remember it all just as vividly, albeit with significantly less pleasure, and will be desperate to avoid a re-run of last year's upset. Revenge, the best motivational tool in the business, will be their spur.

And then there's Villa's secret weapon, or rather weapons. Gary Cahill and Peter Whittingham may not be key men in David O'Leary's squad, yet the pair of them could have a big influence on tonight's proceedings without kicking a ball. Between them, the pair spent a good chunk of last season at Turf Moor and will know as well as anyone the strengths and weaknesses of Steve Coterrill's squad; strengths and weaknesses which will have been imparted to their manager.

But if we are eliminated we'll still make some money out of it, right? I wouldn't be so sure. The words, "Villa Park", and, "sold out" are rarely witnessed in the same sentence and it's unlikely that hordes of Villans will be turned away from the Holte End this evening. Let's just say a January swoop for Thierry Henry with the proceeds made from tonight seems unlikely.

None of this is to say that the Clarets travel without hope, as Wigan Athletic so admirably demonstrated on Saturday.

Aston Villa's form is patchy to say the least, and without the terrifying electric pace of Milan Baros up front, the hosts will be shorn of their most potent player. And after all, there has to be at least one upset in the round, doesn't there?