DARWEN FC Ladies are looking forward to the biggest game in the club's history when they host Blackburn Rovers Women in the FA Cup on Sunday.

The derby clash has certainly grabbed the attention and the Women's FA Cup took pride of place at the Anchor Ground this week in the build-up to the third round tie.

Darwen are the lowest ranked side left in the competiton and while the odds and the pyramid system favour Rovers - their near neighbours play three levels higher - Darwen manager Kieran Wood says the magic of the cup means anything can happen.

"We are under no illusions of how tough an ask it is to win on Sunday, but its the FA Cup and has history has proved that upsets can happened we will be going into the game to try and win," said Wood.

"We are very proud (to get to this stage) it's a fantastic achievement for the club, everyone associated with the club are very proud of what these ladies have achieved."

Darwen have already progressed through three rounds to get to this stage of the competition and Wood says momentum and interest has been building with nearly 400 spectators at the Anchor Ground to see his side beat Leeds Ladies on penalties in the last round.

Darwen have also beaten Leeds Modernians and Sunderland West End.

But Rovers Women at home takes it to the next level.

"It is the biggest game in the club,s history for sure," added Wood, whose side are currently fifth in the North West Women's Regional League Premier Division. "The third round of the FA Cup against a side with a stature like Blackburn Rovers its a fantastic occasion.

"It's a massive occasion for the club. Being the higher ranked team the pressure is on Blackburn but they play at a very high level so I would expect them to handle that well."

While the cup run has helped raise the club's profile, Wood says it has also raised so much needed funds - the winners of Sunday's tie will receive £35,000 and the losing team is given £9,000.

"The prize money is massive for a club like ours," added Wood. "Money is tight in the lower leagues so it is a huge boost that will benefit not just our senior ladies team but our junior sides will benefit from it also.

"The FA cup run has certainly raised the profile of the club as we have had quite the increase in our social media followers along with the increase in attendances," he said.

"The ladies can have a sense of pride for what they have achieved and hopefully it can inspire more girls from our town to play football knowing that they have every opportunity to play in games of this magnitude such as this.

"This cup run has been brilliant so far and it gives us confidence for the rest of the campaign."

The third round tie at Darwen FC's Anchor Ground will kick off at 2pm on Sunday.