BURTON Albion will host Northampton Town at the Pirelli Stadium in the Third Round of the Emirates FA Cup.
The Brewers defeated Salford City after a replay, followed by Oldham Athletic last weekend, to advance to this round while the Cobblers have reached the Third Round courtesy of victories over Chippenham Town and Notts County.
Town, managed by Keith Curle and the former home of our defender John-Joe O'Toole, currently sit sixth in the Sky Bet League Two table.
The tie will be played on the weekend of January 4, with full fixture and ticket details to be confirmed, meaning our Sky Bet League One game at home to MK Dons will have to be rearranged.
Manager Nigel Clough was delighted to get a home draw and says that, having faced two League Two sides already in this competition, Albion know how tough a prospect Town will be.
"That’s the main thing, that it’s a home draw," said Clough. "We’ve done enough travelling in last few weeks, and so have the fans.
"It’s an opportunity, but that’s all it is, to get to the Fourth Round.
"We talked about it today ironically enough about how much they’ve improved and how they’re in good form in the league, and we know from the previous two rounds how tough League Two sides can be.
"There's always a little tie-in somewhere, isn't there? The first thing that came to mind was John-Joe, and he'll be looking forward to it as much as anyone."