It's the third time the two managers will have come up against each other with Howe winning the battle at Watford last season followed by the home draw against Cardiff earlier this season.
Both now have an opportunity to steer their clubs into the last eight of the competition, clubs who have both had superb cup runs in the last four years, and both know and understand the importance of the game.
Yesterday, Mackay said: "Every game we play is a priority. I think you have seen that in the Carling Cup games so far. It will be no different tomorrow night. I will pick a team that I believe can go and beat Burnley.
"Every team I put out I hope to be strong. I don't disrespect any of my players by thinking they are not strong players. I expect every player to go out and compete for the badge, the jersey and the fans. I will assess my squad and decide what I'm going to do."
Burnley don't quite have the same sort of squad in terms of numbers so Howe won't be able to make too many changes, and neither would he want to.
"It's a chance to progress into the last eight of a great cup competition, so I don't think we need any more incentive than that," he said.
"It's a great opportunity for both sides to get to the last eight and that will be a fantastic achievement in itself. With eight teams in and anything can happen and you are only a couple of wins away from a serious high.
"This game is important to us and has been all season. This is a good competition and we want to go as far as we can. We desperately want to win the game."
With the win at Coventry, he added: "It was another confidence booster. I think we've done well away from home this year. That's three wins now and it took us quite a while to get that tally last year.
"We go to Cardiff in good heart and full of confidence on the back of what was a great win. Any win away from home in this league is a good win because it's such a tough league. I thought we were very good at Coventry for 60 minutes and created a number of chances. If we can do that again we will be well pleased.
"Cardiff have done well this season and had some good results lately. They have a big squad and I am sure they will rotate it, so it's a difficult one to prepare for, but I do believe we can win the game.