Nigel Clough's Burton Albion side will see today's FA Cup third round tie as a welcome distraction from their league woes more than their hosts, if anything.

The Brewers have lost five of their last six games in the Championship and are one point and one place above the relegation zone in the league.

They have experienced somewhat of a baptism of fire in their first season in the second tier, only seven years after they were playing non-league football, with some harsh results not always befitting their impressive style of play.

Wherever manager Nigel Clough has been, he has always championed good football, without necessarily getting the results to go with it.

His Derby side provided the backbone of the team now primed for the second-tier play-offs while his Sheffield United team flattered to deceive, missing out on promotion before he was fired in May 2015.

But Burton was where Clough's managerial dream had started, in 1998, and he left the Pirelli Stadium 11 years later with the club games away from a second promotion under his tenure.

Since his return they have not looked back, however, with the son of legend Brian taking the Midlands club to back-to-back promotions last year.

This time around, it has been harder for Clough and co, but midfielder Jackson Irvine has provided a lift with eight goals already to his name.

The Brewers neither score nor ship too many goals - but have progressed beyond the third round only once before, in 2011.

Top-scorer Irvine will miss today's test at Vicarage Road, but on-loan Leeds midfielder Luke Murphy will be free to play.

So can Walter Mazzarri's men avoid their most uncomfortable defeat of the season - including Gillingham, given the time of it - and be in the hat on Monday?

Let us know your thoughts.