Ian Evatt will send his Wanderers out on the attack against Aston Villa tonight in search of a famous cup scalp.

The Bolton boss admits he has had little time to prepare tactically for the visit of Steven Gerrard’s Premier League men but with the pressure off, he feels it is in his players’ reach to cause an upset.

Villa have won just three of their last 14 games in all competitions and have been beaten by Bournemouth and Crystal Palace in the top-flight already this season.

They still arrive at the University of Bolton Stadium as heavy favourites but Evatt reckons his players will relish giving a good account of themselves in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

“For us, it’s a free hit,” he said. “Steven has some very good players and has a good record since starting his managerial career.

“We are full of respect for that – but we won’t be playing respect on the day, we won’t be playing reputations, we are playing 11 v 11 and see where it takes us.

“We will play our normal way with our philosophy. We won’t be parking the bus – I don’t think we ever will, to be honest. We do have to respect at times that we won’t have as much possession and that may take us out of our comfort zone a little bit because we are not used to it. It will be interesting to see how we cope.

“There will always be giant-killings. On any given day if don’t perform you have no God-given right to win anything no matter what division you play in. You have to turn up and play well.

“I think the level of football lower down the leagues has become stronger. Every team is well-coached, has a plan, and so who knows? We can go and attack and see where it takes us.

“I have no doubt they will come here with a very strong team looking to get their season up and running.”

Despite being shown live on TV, more than 16,000 tickets have been sold for the game as discounted prices, including 5,000 travelling Villa fans.

Evatt has spoken on many occasions about his ambition to get Bolton back into the Championship and beyond, and he thinks tonight’s game can be a yardstick for players who think they too can play at a higher level.

“It isn’t about us having the aspiration of moving here and now, it is about showing that we can compete and how far we can compete against the best teams in England,” he said.

“Villa are one of the 20 best teams in England because they play in the Premier League.

“Obviously, the players they have and the money they can spent is just exceptional. But it is no different at our level – Sheffield Wednesday have just signed Malik Wilks today. We are nowhere near their financial power but we have to back ourselves to be the best version we can be.”