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Speaking to the Western Mail Kav said

"It simply has to be third-time-lucky for Peter and I. It was heartbreaking to lose twice in the semi-finals and I don't want to experience that again. Stoke will also be praying they can do it this time, but we're full of confidence that we can reach the final."

Kavanagh left Stoke last summer in a move that caused a lot of Stoke fans to question the ambition of their club. Peter Thorne followed soon after for £1.7m and despite a season of iinjury has been in good form recently scoring several goals. Thorne missed both games against Stoke this season becuase of the injury's. City drew 1 - 1 at the Britannia last December and were comfortable 2 - 0 winners over Stoke at Ninian Park.

Kav upset the Stoke fans when he claimed that Cardiff were bigger than Stoke and had more ambition. He has re-iterated these comments.

"Cardiff City is far bigger than Stoke City. That's a fact. With Sam Hammam behind us and the money he has spent - and is planning to spend - Stoke could not compete. Many chairmen arrive promising the sun, moon and the stars. Sam has put his money where his mouth is, which is responsible for getting us where we are."

Peter Thorne was also hoping this would be his time. He told that Wales on Sunday

"It's going to be third time lucky for Kav and me. I know Stoke will say it will be third time luckily for them, but we are confident we can make it to the final and that will be experience of a life time.

"It's going to be tough against Stoke of course, because they are a good side, but we are up for the challenge.

"We are better equipped than Stoke City have been for the last two season when they went out. We have a manager who has been there and done it, while the players have tremendous belief in each other.

"Teams will fear us after the 13-match unbeaten run we have put together."

City boss Lennie Lawrence has guided the Bluebirds to 13 games unbeaten, 10 wins in that total nearly gave City an automatic place. Only one point seperated 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Lawrence himself has been surprised that 33 points from the last 13 games did not get automatic promotion.

Lennie told the Wales on Sunday

"When I first took charge, I said we needed seven wins to make it into the play-offs.

"We've had 10 and got to 83 points. For me, that should be enough to be guaranteed promotion, but it's not to be.

"Huddersfield have taken the final play-off spot with 78 points, far more than is usually needed. If I had known when I took charge that would be the target, I would have said we would struggle to make it.

"But the players have put in a massive, massive effort physically and they have done so well. We did not play well during the first half, but I didn't slaughter them at half-time.

"They have done so well for me. And they responded well after the interval. We might have been a goal or two down at the break, but overall I felt we deserved to win."

Lennie is confident going into the play offs

"We will respect Stoke City, but we won't fear them," said Lawrence. "I said when I first came to Cardiff I wanted to find out who had the bottle for the test ahead.

"There have been no negatives at all. The biggest tests are ahead of us, but the players can cope.

"The players have handled everything thrown at them and now we have given ourselves a real chance of making the final. The best team will win over the two legs and if Stoke come through I will hold up my hands and say well done to them.

"I can't wait for the challenge. My players can't wait for the challenge. And we are confident we can finish the job we have started."

Stoke City are also looking forward to the games. As mentioned in the quotes above Stoke have been knocked out of the play offs at the semi final stage for the last two seasons. The Potters boss Gudjon Tordarson is well aware of the attention surrounding these games and especially the return to the Brittannia of Kavanagh and Thorne. Speaking to the Stoke City official website he said

"That’s what everyone is already talking about – the fact that we are coming up against two of our former players and they might stop us getting to the final.

"Graham Kavanagh and Peter Thorne have played a big part in Cardiff’s success this season and in particular their good form in the run-in. But it would be a mistake for anyone to think those two players alone can prevent us from promotion.

"I know they can’t. At this moment in time I feel no-one can stop us. This is all about us now and getting ourselves in the right frame of mind to go and get the necessary results in the next three games.

"We are capable of beating anyone and I don’t think Cardiff would have ideally chosen to be playing us in the semi-finals.

"I think we have a nice balance of steel and skill in our team – the right sort of balance for the job ahead."

One thing for sure these matches will not be recommended for those with a nervous disposition. The winners will play either Huddersfield or Brentford in the final at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday May 11th (1:30pm).