Aston Villa skipper Gareth Barry insists his side fears no one as he prepares to lead his men out against Manchester United in the FA Cup tomorrow.
Villa seem to draw Sir Alex Ferguson's side with frightening regularity in the third round and never seem to beat them but the Villa captain says he believes luck will eventually change and his side will end the hoodoo which exists between the two sides, particularly at Villa Park.
Barry is convinced the confidence and self-belief Martin O'Neill has instilled in his young side will give Villa a better chance than ever to try and overturn Wayne Rooney et al when the two sides meet at 5.15pm tomorrow.
He said: "When you are winning your league games, you want to keep building on that but it is a nice game for the fans and the players.
"We are used to United in the cup and eventually the luck will change.
"It does seem like there is a bit of a hoodoo over us and it is a long time since we beat them.
"It is always going to be tough, they are champions and always play some of their best football away from home so that is going to make it even tougher for ourselves.
"But we have got great belief in our team and if we can take our chances."
United beat Villa 4-1 in the Barclays Premier League at Villa Park this season but the home side had been 1-0 up thanks to a Gabriel Agbonlahor strike and had dominated the opening 20 minutes before throwing their lead away. They ended the game with just nine men which finally led to their capitulation.
Barry said: "We were 1-0 up earlier this season, missed a good chance to go 2-0 up and it is little things like that which can make the difference.
"United then scored three goals in nine minutes - that is the difference between your top teams and your average teams. You know they are top class at counter-attacking and taking their chances so hopefully we have learned from the league game."
The England midfielder added: "Our league form now is much improved. We have got eight points from four games over Christmas and we would have taken that before this spell. The fixtures were pretty tough but the victory over Spurs feels massive for us."
Barry believes Villa are finally achieving their goals and said the side was thrilled to be sitting pretty among the top six or seven teams in the Premier League and among the European contenders going into the start of 2008.
He said: "The top six is certainly our aim and we want to improve on last season. The confidence is there and got to try and build on it."
Barry said Villa's league form would be a boost ahead of the cup tie which will see Villa Park packed to the rafters.
He said: "This is the first time for some time that Villa has been challenging the big teams - certainly the difference between the clubs is closing in. I am not so sure at the moment we could compete over a season to go into that top four.
"But certainly in one-off games the class gap has been narrowed and we've got a good team that can match them.
"Next month we need to try and sustain the challenge but I am sure the manager is not settling for where we are at the moment and you can always improve on your team.
"He was busy last January and I am sure he has got his targets."
Meanwhile the Villa skipper is delighted with his own form this season, having become a regular in the England squad and a natural leader of the young guns under his control at Villa Park.
He added: "Things are going very well at club level. I'd like us to aim for that top six finish.
"Personally I made the decision a while ago to stay here and it was a decision I had to make. I put the faith in the manager and what he told me and what he felt the club could achieve and at the moment we are making the right strides.
"So far I would say it has been a great decision for myself and the club."
