The two clubs last met in January 1999, when Villa led the Premiership and City were bottom of the Football League. That was also in the Third Round of the FA Cup, but was held at Villa Park, with the home side winning 3-0. They also won 3-0 in meetings in 1908 and 1926, while in 1956 they won 2-1 after a replay. City have never beaten them in the cup, and have only achieved 5 wins in 21 league meetings, the last of those being in the 1987/88 season.
Now, the Villains are 15th in the Premiership and are out of the League Cup having lost 3-0 to League One side Doncaster last week. David O'Leary's side - which includes the likes of Gareth Barry, Milan Baros and Kevin Phillips - will be looking to make a better fist of it in the FA Cup.