CHERRIES skipper Simon Francis has his eyes firmly fixed on an extended run in the EFL Cup ahead of tonight's third-round encounter with Preston.

The visit of the Championship outfit offers an immediate opportunity for Eddie Howe's side to bounce back from the Premier League humbling at Manchester City, when Pep Guardiola's title hopefuls hit Cherries for four unanswered goals.

But while Howe's men went to Etihad Stadium as underdogs, the boot will be on the other foot when Vitality Stadium hosts its first cup football of the season, with Cherries targeting a place in the fourth round for only the fifth time in club history (7.45pm).

And Francis has pledged his side will not take the challenge lightly, particularly with fringe players set to be handed the chance to stake a first-team claim before Cherries' next top-flight outing against Everton.

Francis told the Daily Echo: "We'll be taking it very seriously. The manager showed us that when we played Morecambe in the last round.

"He put out a full-strength side with lads in the squad who hadn't been playing as much in the league and I’m sure he plans to do the same again. It’s good that we have a big squad and can afford to do that.

"We have some quality players waiting in the wings, players who have been on the bench in recent weeks and others coming back from injury. It will be an important game for us and we want to carry on our cup run."

Defender Francis was part of the Cherries side that met Preston at the same stage of this competition 12 months ago.

On that occasion, Howe's team emerged triumphant from a tight contest at Deepdale, with keeper Adam Federici the hero after saving three spot-kicks in the shootout following a 2-2 draw.

Andrew Surman echoed the skipper's views on the importance of recapturing the winning feeling when Cherries renew hostilities with the Lancashire club.

And the South Africa-born midfielder insists his side will not switch their efforts on or off depending on the competition in which they are playing.

Surman said: "We want to come away with a good result and then look forward to Saturday. But the first thing is Tuesday and we want to get back to winning ways.

"Whether it’s cup or league, every game is massive. We want to win every game. I think winning breeds confidence, in the cup or in the league.

"We want to come away from that game with a win to put us into the next round, then that will breed confidence and gets us in that winning mentality again."

Cherries reached the fourth round last season and the quarter-final the campaign before – the first time the club had made it through to the last eight.

Liverpool proved the Dorset side's tormentors on both occasions, winning 1-0 at Anfield last term and 3-1 in Dorset the season before.