SAINTS fans shouldn't get carried away into thinking they will definitely be travelling to Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

For Sheffield Wednesday have only lost once away from home since the 4-0 surrender at Colchester in October that saw ex-Saints boss Paul Sturrock sacked shortly after.

In fact, Brian Laws' side have won their last four away Championship matches and five out of the last six away from Hillsborough.

Steve MacLean gave Wednesday a 1-1 draw at home yesterday after Georgios Samaras's penalty had seen Stuart Pearce's inconsistent City side take the lead with 12 minutes left.

"The manner in which we bounced back was very impressive,'' said Laws, whose team hit back from 1-3 down to claim a point against Saints at Hillsborough two days before Christmas.

"It would have been a travesty if we hadn't scored the equaliser.

"But at least we've another bite of the cherry. We're in the hat for the next round.

"One thing is for sure, we'll be going to Manchester City high on confidence.

"We've a good away record, we attack teams away from home, so they won't be in for an easy ride".

Since losing 4-0 at Colchester on October 18, Wednesday have won at Ipswich (2-0), Leicester (4-1), Norwich (2-1), Stoke (2-1) and Barnsley (3-0) in league action.

Their only away loss under Laws was a 3-1 defeat at Coventry in mid-November.

As for City, they have only lost twice at Eastlands all season - to Spurs and Bolton inside six days before Christmas - and have conceded just six Premiership goals in 11 home league matches.

Only Liverpool, who have let in just three in 11 games, have a better home record in the top flight.

The last time Saints met Manchester City in the FA Cup was way back in January 1960.

Saints, then in the old Division Three, produced a stunning 5-1 win at Maine Road against their top flight opponents with Derek Reeves netting four times.

The only other time Saints have met City in the FA Cup was in February 1910, when City won 5-0 at The Dell.

The last time Saints met Wednesday in the FA Cup was in the fourth round six years ago. Goals in the last 10 minutes from Jason Dodd (penalty) and James Beattie sealed a 3-1 home win for Glenn Hoddle's men.

Kevin Davies had given Saints an early lead with Andy Booth levelling midway through the second half at The Dell.

Prior to that, Saints had famously thrashed the Owls 5-1 at The Dell in a sixth round replay in 1984.

Steve Williams, Mark Wright, David Armstrong, Steve Moran and an own goal were on target for Lawrie McMenemy's men after a 0-0 draw at Hillsborough.

The winners of the fourth round tie will bank £60,000 and both teams will get £150,000 if the tie is chosen for live television coverage.