The romance of the FA Cup is not lost on Stephen Thomas, who is setting his sights on a first round upset at Barnsley this weekend.

The Darlington midfielder will be hoping to make his first start of the season at Oakwell after making his sixth substitute appearance at former club Wrexham on Saturday.

In a competition renowned worldwide for producing heroic humblings, Thomas has every belief Quakers can continue that tradition on Saturday.

"FA Cup games are always special to be involved in," said Thomas, who reached the fourth round of the competition with Wrexham in 1999.

"The form book goes out of the window and even though we're a division below Barnsley, I don't think that will make one bit of difference.

"Obviously, we're the underdogs and the pressure will be on Barnsley to go through. The pressure is off us, which I think always helps."

Thomas was part of the Wrexham side that lost to Darlington in the first round of the FA Cup in 2002. Quakers went on to beat Stevenage, before an embarrassing exit to non-league Farnborough in the third round.

And, while Thomas is under no illusions that League One Barnsley will provide a difficult test if Quakers are to progress this year, the 26-year-old can not help but speculate a possible run in the competition.

"A big third round tie is always at the back of your mind, but we have to get past Barnsley first," said Thomas.

"We're not thinking about any other game at the moment and hopefully I'll be involved."

Quakers will have three former Barnsley players in their squad this weekend. Matty Appleby starred in the Premiership for the Tykes, after leaving Darlington for South Yorkshire in a £200,000 deal in 1996. Neil Maddison made three appearances on loan to Barnsley from Middlesbrough in 2000, while Simon Johnson made ten starts when he was loaned out from Leeds United last season.

Barnsley striker Barry Conlon will not face his former club after joining Rotherham United on a three-month loan recently.