Everton face Rotherham United in the third round of the FA Cup this weekend and fans will hope the Blues repeat an impressive run as they did in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.
The 12pm kick-off on Saturday represents a good opportunity for the Toffees, who can rotate their squad and still be confident of getting past a side struggling at the bottom of the Championship.
Rotherham are 23rd in the second division, having won just one of their last nine Championship fixtures, and will surely be focused on survival rather than a cup run.
Everton, by contrast, should be relishing the chance offered by the FA Cup, having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the quarter finals by Manchester United last month.
The Toffees are just four points off the summit of the Premier League and face Wolves on Tuesday evening, but should also have one eye on progressing to the latter stages of a cup competition.
The winners of the 1995 FA Cup have enjoyed some decent runs in the oldest cup competition in the world over the last decade, finishing as runners up to Chelsea in 2009 and reaching the semi-finals in 2012 and 2016.
But with the team in form and an experienced manager at the helm, now seems like a good time to go one step further.
Carlo Ancelotti is a hugely successful manager, having won three Champions League titles as well as domestic titles in Italy, England, France, Spain and Germany. He’s not bad when it comes to cup competitions either.
Over his 26-year managerial career Ancelotti has won the Coppa Italia, FA Cup and Copa del Rey.
That record comes despite a challenging start to his career in cup competitions at Parma and Juventus.
In the 1996/97 season, Ancelotti guided Parma to second place in Serie A, but was also knocked out in the second round of the Coppa Italia by Pescara.
The following year his side were cruelly knocked out in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia by AC Milan, who needed a 93rd-minute equaliser in the second leg by Patrick Kluivert to progress on away goals.
When he moved to take over at Juventus things didn’t change much. In the 1999/2000 season Juve were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Lazio, again on goal difference, before a round-of-16 exit at the hands of Brescia the following season.
Even when Juventus won Serie A in 2001/02 they were beaten in the Coppa Italia final by Parma, despite taking a 2-0 lead 12 minutes into the first leg, with Ancelotti’s old club winning on away goals.
Things were to improve for Ancelotti as his glittering career progressed. He won the Coppa Italia in 2003 with his star-studded AC Milan side beating Roma 6-3 on aggregate, while his first season in English football saw him become immediately familiar with the FA Cup competition and pick up the trophy with Chelsea at the first time of asking following their 1-0 win over Portsmouth in 2010.
It was Everton that knocked Ancelotti's Chelsea out of the competition the following year on penalties following two 1-1 draws. The Italian left the club at the end of the season but now has a chance to prove himself in the FA Cup again.
Ancelotti’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona with Real Madrid in 2014 Copa del Rey final was sealed by Gareth Bale’s late stunning off-pitch run past Marc Bartra and finish.
Having worked at some of the biggest, most demanding clubs in the world, Ancelotti’s primary focus has always been the league and Champions League, with domestic cups a secondary consideration.
Now he is at Everton those aims may be altered. If the Toffees can go deep into the FA Cup then Ancelotti could well secure another trophy for his sparkling personal collection.
