Nottingham Forest have fallen on hard times of late.
The club that won successive European Cups in 1979 and 1980 was relegated last season to League One, the third tier of English soccer.
Now though a revival appears to be underway. Under a new, young manager, Colin Calderwood, Forest are chasing promotion to the Championship and have advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup, in which they will face Premiership champions Chelsea this weekend.
Calderwood is realistic enough to acknowledge that the Cup run is likely to end at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
But he is determined that his players, who accounted for Premiership Charlton in the last round, give a good account of themselves and learn from the experience of going up against Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and co.
Need to compete
"It's just two teams. The difference is not so vast, but we have to be excellent defensively. We have to believe in ourselves. We have to believe we can score. At some point in the first period, we have to show that we cause them problems," he explained. "It might be a tackle, a header, a run down the line and cross. These things will be very important. But you don't need to score early goals to show you can compete."
Chelsea will be hoping for more of the same from Andriy Shevchenko, who ended a ten-match goalless run with a brace in the midweek League Cup semi-final win over Wycombe.
The goals have put a new spring in the step of the ?30 million (US$16 million) forward.
"After more than a month, it is very important for a striker to score goals again," he admitted. "Now it is all much better and I believe in the future."
With non-league interest in the competition ended at the third round stage, it falls to League Two minnows Barnet to keep the Cup's tradition of romantic adventures alive.
The north London club are set to start 41-year-old Andy Hessenthaler in their clash with Championship side Plymouth, who are managed by the veteran midfielder's old friend Ian Holloway.
"There will be a lot of nervous energy out there, even I'll probably have some butterflies," said the former Gillingham player-manager, who is confident that Barnet can pull off an upset.
London ties
Barnet's home tie is one of seven fourth round matches being played in and around London this weekend -- a record for the capital at this stage of the tournament.
Manchester United's meeting with Portsmouth is the pick of today's ties and one of three all-Premiership clashes in the fourth round.
Struggling Premiership pair West Ham and Watford meet at Upton Park on today while Arsenal entertain bogey side Bolton at the Emirates tomorrow.
Championship leaders Birmingham, who knocked Newcastle out in the last round, have another test of their promotion credentials when they take on Reading at St Andrews.
Mike Newell's Luton look like one of the better bets to create an upset in their home tie with Blackburn while Tottenham will be wary of Southend, the visitors to White Hart Lane who pushed Spurs to extra-time when they met in the League Cup earlier in the season.
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