The Swansea City manager knows that victory at the DW Stadium on Tuesday night will take the Swans into the quarter finals of the competition for the first time.
And he admitted that he will have to rotate his squad for the game learning from his experience in the last round.
“It’s a very important game for us,” Rodgers told the official website. “But we’ve got to get the balance right with so many games coming up.
“We had a great win at Peterborough in the last round, but it cost us with injuries. It left us short for the following game at Nottingham Forest where we probably produced our worst performance of the season.
“We have to rotate, but we’ll be keeping it strong. We’ve done that in every round so far and I’ll pick a team again I think is good enough to win it.
“I want the boys to go there and enjoy the experience, but make history by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time
“The number of tickets we have sold for the game is amazing,” he added. “The Swansea fans have never ceased to amaze me from the very first day I arrived at the Liberty Stadium. They are fantastic.
“I know the Roberto factor has added even more spice to the game, but for me it’s just a chance to play a Premier League side and get into the next round.
“Roberto had a good two and a half years here and our ideas and philosophy on how we see the game is very similar.
“Sometimes when you lose a manager you love it’s difficult for the fans to take. But he’s a good guy and I know he loved his time here. We still exchange messages and look out for each other.
“He will always be respected here and I’m looking forward to seeing him again.”