Tottenham beat Chelsea at Wembley to win the trophy last season but hardly managed a victory in the aftermath of that triumph, a slide that resulted in the sacking of manager Juande Ramos last month and the shock appointment of Redknapp.
Since then, Spurs have taken 10 points from a possible 12 in the Premier League to climb away from the relegation zone and thumped Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 in the UEFA Cup when born-again striker Darren Bent scored a hat-trick.
"It's been a terrific couple of weeks for us," Redknapp, fast becoming a hero to the club's fans, said after Tottenham's 2-1 win at Manchester City on Sunday.
Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari will hope the competition, often belittled by the country's leading four clubs, will offer a route to his first silverware since taking the Chelsea job.
Arsene Wenger is likely to send out Arsenal's "kids" against Wigan Athletic on Tuesday at the Emirates, a policy the Frenchman sticks to rigidly in the competition with an impressive amount of success.
