Burnley are in COCUP action tonight with a first round tie at Port Vale, a repeat of the tie played three years ago which got the competitive season underway ahead of the first league game.
This time we go into the game with a league game having been played, but we'll be looking to get a first cup victory in four attempts with the last three ties against Southampton and Spurs (both FA Cup) and Sheffield Wednesday (COCUP) all having ended in defeat.
Despite the injuries, it is clear that Sean Dyche is going to shuffle his squad and there have been strong suggestions that there will be some serious game time for all of Matt Gilks, Stephen Ward, Sam Vokes and Marvin Sordell, but we will still be without a number of players.
Obviously long term injury victims Kevin Long, Dean Marney and Ashley Barnes are ruled out although there was some good news on Long and Marney yesterday with them being given the all clear to start some training.
Matt Lowton could be out for a while yet while Fredrik Ulvestad remains out with his twisted ankle, and that will restrict Dyche's options.
One of the new recruits, Tendayi Darikwa, is certainly looking forward to the game. He made his debut on Saturday, getting an assist with our goal, and he's hoping to be in the side again tonight.
He will have played at Vale Park more than some of our players and he confirmed it's a tough place to play. "We've got to be switched on and whichever team the gaffer picks will be going all out to win the game," he said.
"It's a new feeling for me going into a cup game as the team to beat really. Every cup game with Chesterfield we've been the ones looking for the scalp but we'll be switched on and ready."
What will the Burnley team be tonight? It's not an easy one to answer but it does look likely that those four named above will most likely start.
We could line up: Matt Gilks, Tendayi Darikwa, Michael Keane, Ben Mee, Stephen Ward, George Boyd, Scott Arfield, David Jones, Matt Taylor, Marvin Sordell, Sam Vokes.
Port Vale got their season underway in League One three days ago with a 0-0 draw in their local derby at Crewe.
In front of over 2,300 Vale fans, they were much the better side with manager Rob Page suggesting they had outplayed their opponents and out fought them. He said: "We knew we were going to come up against a new Crewe team that the remit is to get it down and play, but I thought we matched them in all areas and created chances, enough chances to go and win the game. It says a lot when their keeper wins man of the match.
Included in the Vale side was goalkeeper Jak Alnwick who played for Newcastle in the 3-3 draw against us last season and Richard Duffy who was with the Clarets on loan almost eleven years ago.
Their team was: Jak Alnwick, Ben Purkiss, Carl Dickinson, Remie Streete, Richard Duffy, Uche Ikpeazu, Louis Dodds, Sam Foley, Sam Kelly, Byron Moore, Anthony Grant. Subs: Sam Johnson, Chris Birchall, Colin Daniel, Michael Brown, Ajay Leitch-Smith, Enoch Andoh, Ryan Inniss.
Since the game they have signed former Newcastle striker JJ Hooper who will come into contention for the game. He spent last season with Havant & Waterlooville, scoring 20 goals in 29 games.
Last Time We Were There
Three year ago the league season was delayed because of the Olympics and saw we played a cup tie first; ours was at Port Vale and ended in a 3-1 win for the Clarets.
It was a game that saw debuts for Jason Shackell, Joseph Mills and Brian Stock who were all in the starting line up for the Clarets. Luke O'Neill, another new signing, was on the bench but there was no sign of George Porter in the squad.
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| Chris McCann scored the equaliser |
Vale, playing in a shocking pink kit, took the lead when a Chris Shuker free kick was played into the box and evaded everyone before making its way into the net.
What a poor start, but thankfully we weren't behind for long, two minutes to be exact. Goalkeeper Chris Neal made a superb save to deny Chris McCann at the expense of a corner but McCann was not to be denied and headed home from the corner.
After another scare, we settled down and dominated the rest of the first half.
We took the lead when Joe Davis (son of former Claret and current Crewe manager Steve Davis) snookered himself with a poor back pass. Dean Marney got there first and knocked the ball for Charlie Austin who slide the ball into the empty net from around 15 yards.
It looked as though we would go in at half time with a 2-1 lead, but two became three when Ross Wallace and Junior Stanislas linked up to find Marney. He took the ball forward just inside the box before unleashing his shot into the top corner.
The game was all but won and although we didn't offer too much of a threat in the second half there was never really any suggestion that Vale would get back into the game.
Manager Eddie Howe admitted to being unhappy with the second half performance but the win landed us a second round tie against Plymouth at home.
The teams were;
Port Vale: Chris Neal, Adam Yates, John McCombe, Doug Loft, Louis Dodds, Jennison Myrie-Williams, Ashley Vincent (Ben Williamson), Tom Pope, Chris Shuker (Ryan Burge 50), Joe Davis (Clayton McDonald 45), Sam Morsy. Subs not used: Sam Johnson, Darren Murphy, Richard Duffy, Ryan Lloyd.
Burnley: Lee Grant, Kieran Trippier, David Edgar, Jason Shackell, Joseph Mills, Brian Stock (Michael Duff 86), Dean Marney, Chris McCann, Ross Wallace, Charlie Austin, Junior Stanislas. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, Luke O'Neill, Kevin Long, Ben Mee, Steven Hewitt, Alex MacDonald.
Previous Games against Port Vale
| Last 20 Years | |||||
| Season | Comp | Ven | Res | Att | Scorers |
| 2010/11 | FA Cup | h | 4-2 | 11,136 | Carlisle, Mears, Eagles, Alexander(pen) |
| 2012/13 | Cap One Cup | a | 3-1 | 4,055 | McCann, Austin, Marney |
Click HERE to see all previous results against Port Vale (no cup games shown prior to season 1986/87)