But Burnley Football Club say they are "confident" tonight's FA Cup third round tie with Liverpool will go ahead at the second time of asking.

The Turf Moor pitch covers have been in place since 4pm last night to catch around an inch of overnight snow.

And with rising temperatures during Tuesday expected to melt any snow that is lying in the stands, officials insist they do not expect any serious problems in the run-up to kick off.

This morning, a club spokesman insisted: We are confident there will be no problems tonight.

"The pitch covers will remain in place until between 5pm and 6pm, but the snow is already melting on the covers and in the stands."

The troublesome part of the Turf Moor pitch has been re-laid since causing two postponements this year.

The New Year game against Leicester City was abandoned after only 19 minutes following torrential rain, while the original tie with Liverpool 12 days ago was finally called off just 45 minutes ahead of kick off because of a waterlogged strip beneath the Bob Lord Stand.

And although much of the pitch remains boggy, Clarets boss Steve Cotterill insists that should cause no problems for players on either side tonight.

He said: "The whole pitch is still very sodden and it's going to take a lot of blowy, fine days to dry out.

"Unfortunately we don't get a lot of those, so it makes it quite tough for the groundstaff.

"But I think the players adjust more now and the pitches don't quite get into the state they did in the era of the famous Ronnie Radford goal. Even ours is better than that!

"Players are stronger and more athletic and they tend to plough through the mud."