Last season, the FA Cup proved to be a welcome tonic in what was otherwise a frustrating campaign.
Leicester City's march to the quarter-finals was the highlight of the season, with the victory at Premier League side Norwich the stand-out performance of the whole campaign, while the trip to face Chelsea was arguably the most memorable day out.
However, their success in the cup did not really kick-start a promotion campaign, although their best league victory, away at Southampton, was sandwiched between the fantastic third-round drubbing of Nottingham Forest and the fourth-round win against Swindon.
It looked like a promotion charge was on the cards after that memorable night at St Mary's.
But it was not to be. Did the FA Cup hinder that expected charge, then?
Probably not. City did not have the consistency for a league campaign but were certainly good enough for one-off cup clashes.
There seems to be no evidence that supports the theory that a good cup run detracts from a promotion push.
That seems to be even more unlikely at a club like City, where the focus is absolutely on promotion.
It is not quite tunnel vision. The FA Cup certainly has a strong value to City, and not just as a competition in its own right. It can provide benefits for the league.
While Cardiff made 11 changes to their side and paid the price at Macclesfield, City showed Burton more respect by making just three changes from the side that hammered Huddersfield last Tuesday.
After the Capital One Cup defeat at the hands of the Brewers in August, there was even more pressure on City to ensure safe passage to the fourth round as they had a point to prove after that debacle.
And prove it they did. As soon as Chris Wood, who looks like a fantastic acquisition by City, put them ahead after three minutes, they looked more or less comfortable throughout.
When Ritchie De Laet scored his second in consecutive games soon after, the tie was virtually secure.
Only Robbie Weir's curling effort, which Kasper Schmeichel pushed away at full stretch, threatened to derail City.
Reaching round four was the ultimate aim, as was exorcising the demons of the Capital One Cup, but City were also able to give Wood another run-out to familiarise himself with his new surroundings, which is vital as he will be spearheading the promotion challenge.
There was another 90 minutes for teenager Michael Keane, who has looked incredibly impressive for a 19-year-old defender.
Both players benefited from the run-out and City were able to chalk up a third consecutive win, giving them that most crucial of factors in any league campaign, momentum. They just have to keep it going.
