Aston Villa will face Manchester City in the FA Cup fourth round later this month, providing they see off Wycombe Wanderers in their third round replay.
In the hat for the draw, which took place on Monday night, following their 1-1 draw against the League Two outfit on Saturday, Villa were awarded with almost the toughest of prospects, a home tie against the Premier League champions.
Garde knows how to frustrate City
It has to be said that Villa manager Remi Garde already has Manuel Pellegrini's number, sort of. Taking on the Citizens in his first game since replacing the sacked Tim Sherwood, Garde guided the Villans to a morale boosting 0-0 draw at Villa Park.
Despite the result looking good in isolation, Villa were battered from pillar to post that day, with many left scratching their heads as to how they didn't concede. Their lack of improvement showed up fully a week later, with them losing 4-0 away at Everton.
Things haven't got much better since then, with the Villans 11 points adrift of safety at the bottom of the Premier League table, and without a win in a competition other than the League Cup since August 8. This would make City, who are still in the thick of a title race, overwhelming favourites for any potential clash.
However, by the time any fixture would take place, the Sky Blues could have their minds focused on a successful league and Champions League campaign, whilst Villa may be focusing on the cup after giving up on beating the drop. Such a scenario would certainly give the B6 side a furthened chance, but a win to carry them to the fifth round would still be seen as unlikely.
Villans must progress first of all
Many fans will be making the good point that all of this is only possible should Garde's men beat Wycombe in the replay at Villa Park, with Micah Richards' goal at the weekend not enough to send them through.
Whilst many will expect the Premier League outfit to comfortably win the tie when back at their own ground, the extreme lack of confidence in Villa's camp will give the underdogs great hope, and they'll be keen to take their chance, and earn a lucrative game against City in the process.