NEWPORT County will play Cardiff City at Spytty Park in the FAW Premier Cup quarter-finals.

The club are set to take a financial gamble and play the all-ticket tie at home, despite being landed by a police bill of over £10,500 last year when the sides met.

County officials are in discussion with Gwent Police with the possibility of the match being used as a training operation in handling large-scale sporting events. The decision by the police is expected next week, when the tickets for the match are set to go on sale after the home match with Chippenham.

The result could reduce the costs of staging the game by 80 per cent, whereas without police backing, the match would leave County facing a substantial loss.

Club official, Chris Blight said: "We have had a meeting with Chief Inspector Julian Knight (of Gwent Police) and we are hoping that an arrangement can be made.

"We looked at various possibilities such as playing the match at Cardiff, or a neutral venue or not having any support.

"But it is the aim of the club to bring good football to Newport for the fans and for the good of the game and want to play the match here.

"We are hoping this can go ahead as we cannot afford to cover the match costs otherwise."

Last year's cup clash between rivals Newport and Cardiff required 125 police officers on duty and the bad blood between the sides prevents police taking a lighter approach to the match.