It's the COCUP and it's Forest

Those wins against York (4-0 at Bootham Crescent) and Preston (2-0 at home) have taken us to the third round, something we've achieved or gone beyond in each of the last seven seasons since Hartlepool knocked us out in a first round tie at Turf Moor in 2006.

Last season we went out at this stage, beaten 3-1 at Swindon, but in the previous four seasons we won through to the fourth round, the last occasion two years ago seeing us go out 1-0 after an abject performance at Cardiff.

No matter what team Sean Dyche puts out tonight there won't be too many survivors from that game in the Welsh capital. Kieran Trippier was at right back and Ben Mee was in the centre of defence. Dean Marney played in midfield and two of last Saturday's substitutes at Leeds, David Edgar and Keith Treacy, were in the team.

Tom Heaton was in the Cardiff team that beat us in 2011

There was one other current member of the squad who also played in that game. Tom Heaton was the Cardiff goalkeeper who kept a clean sheet that night and went all the way to Wembley where he saved a Steven Gerrard penalty in a shoot out that ultimately his team lost.

Heaton, speaking to the local press this week, sees similarities from that Cardiff team and ours this season in that they didn't make wholesale changes for the cup ties, although the changes they did make allowed him to play ahead of first choice goalkeeper David Marshall.

"We almost kept the same team all the way through," he said. "There were one or two changes and obviously I was one of them because I didn't play in the league very much.

"It builds momentum. I think there's too much rotation of squads these days. I understand there's a fatigue factor the more games you play, especially when a team's in the Champions League, but I think it underestimates that togetherness a team gets and an understanding.

"That's been a factor for us. Everyone gets to know each other and playing with each other, it makes such a big difference."

Ironically, Heaton missed the last round against Preston, serving a one match ban after the farcical sending off at Brighton, but he's expected to play tonight although Sean Dyche is likely to make some changes.

One will be forced on him with David Jones very unlikely to be fit after suffering a gashed ankle in the win at Leeds on Saturday which saw him stretchered off with twenty minutes remaining.

There could be other changes too, Dyche has hinted at it, and that could mean some game time for some of the squad including David Edgar, who came on for Jones, Brian Stock, also used as a substitute on Saturday, Junior Stanislas and Keith Treacy.

If there are no changes at the back the game will provide Michael Duff with his 300th first team appearance for Burnley. Of his 299 to date, 260 have come in the league, with 12 in the FA Cup, 24 in this competition and the three play-off games in May 2009.

We've received a boost with Stoke giving us permission to play Michael Kightly in the competition.

It's difficult to determine the team but Dyche will select from: Tom Heaton, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff, Jason Shackell, Ben Mee, Michael Kightly, Dean Marney, Scott Arfield, Danny Ings, Sam Vokes, Alex Cisak, Kevin Long, Danny Lafferty, David Edgar, Brian Stock, Junior Stanislas, Keith Treacy, Luke O'Neill, Ryan Noble.

Nottingham Forest arrive at Turf Moor in sixth place in the Championship, but Billy Davies is likely to make big changes for tonight's game.

They've won through to tonight's tie with wins against Hartlepool (3-1) and then Millwall (2-1 after extra time) with both of them played at the City Ground.

For the game against Millwall in the last round, Billy Davies opted to change things round and made eleven changes from the team that had started the previous league game at Watford with just three of those league players even making the bench.

There has been no suggestion, as yet, that he will do something similar tonight, but he is expected to certainly make some changes from the team that drew at Doncaster on Saturday.

Their team on Saturday was: Karl Darlow, Eric Lichaj, Jack Hobbs, Greg Halford, Chris Cohen, Nathaniel Chalobah, Henri Lansbury, Djamel Abdoun, Andy Reid, Darius Henderson, Jamie Mackie. Subs: Dorus De Vries, Danny Collins, Guy Moussi, Gonzalo Jara, Radoslaw Majewski, Jamie Paterson, Matt Derbyshire.

Other players who could feature tonight include Dan Harding, Jamaal Lascelles, Simon Gillett, Simon Cox, Ishmael Miller and Dexter Blackstock.

Last Time They Were Here

We've played Forest three times previously in this competition and on all three occasions there has been a game at Turf Moor.

In the competitions inaugural season of 1960/61 we were paired with Forest at home in the fourth round. Jimmy Robson gave us the lead but Forest equalised in the second half only for Ray Pointer to net two minutes from time to take us through with a 2-1 win.

In the 1967/68 season we met one round earlier, again at home. Willie Irvine and Andy Lochhead had both found the net by the 13th minute and a second  from Irvine early in the second half completed a 3-0 win.

Our most recent meeting was in 1990/91. We'd beaten Stockport in the first round and came up against Forest in round two. It was a two legged affair then with the first leg played at the City Ground.

It didn't go well for us. We were 1-0 behind at half time but Peter Mumby equalised early in the second half. But three goals in an 11 minute period late in the game gave Forest a 4-1 advantage to take to Turf Moor.

The Forest team included such as former Claret Brian Laws, a young Roy Keane, Des Walker and Nigel Clough, but the major talking point was the shocking challenge by Stuart Pearce on David Hamilton. It ruled Hamilton out until March with Pearce fortunate not to be sent off by referee David Elleray.

Almost eleven and a half thousand were inside Turf Moor for the second leg, hoping for a big recovery, but it wasn't to be and the second leg was lost 1-0.

The teams for that second leg were;

Burnley: Chris Pearce, Ian Measham, Ray Deakin, John Deary, Andy Farrell, John Pender, Peter Mumby, Winston White, John Francis, Joe Jakub (Roger Eli), Neil Grewcock.

Nottingham Forest: Mark Crossley, Brian Laws, Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Steve Chettle, Steve Hodge (Neil Lyne), Gary Crosby, Garry Parker, Tommy Gaynor, Nigel Jemson, Roy Keane.

Players not involved in the second leg who played in the first leg were Steve Davis and David Hamilton, Burnley, and Forest's Nigel Clough.

Previous Games against Nottingham Forest

Click HERE to see all previous results against Nottingham Forest