Crystal Palace travel to Devon on Tuesday (29th August) evening to take on the Pilgrims at Home Park, over 13 years since the two teams last met in the Championship.
And whilst Plymouth continue to ply their trade in the second tier and Palace in the Premier League, Hodgson is not taking the threat the opposition pose lightly.
Discussing his team selection process further for the cup match, Hodgson explained: “There’s a balance we have to sort out.
“It’s the usual balancing act: we don’t want to send a reserve team down there and get beaten by a very good Plymouth side, because we know how good they are. If we’re going to get a result down there then we’re going to have to play a good team.
“It’ll presumably be some sort of balancing act where we don’t jettison anyone we think is a first-team player from the last three games just to give [a chance to] someone who hasn’t had a kick of a ball yet – you’ll have to deserve it.
“You’ll have to deserve a kick of the ball and you’ll have to deserve a place in the team in place of anyone that I decide to leave out.”
Tuesday will mark the fourth occasion Palace and Plymouth have met in Cup competitions, the last time being in the Carabao Cup in September 2002, when Darren Powell and Andrew Johnson were on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win for the Eagles at Selhurst Park after extra-time.
That season, Palace went on to reach the League Cup quarter-finals, a finish they have only bettered once since (reaching the semi-finals in 2011/12).
With the talent at his disposal, therefore, Hodgson is targeting an improvement on last season’s third-round exit and hopes for an extended cup run.
The manager admitted: “At Palace, in all the time I’ve been here, we haven’t placed too much focus on cup games. Certainly we would like to give the Carabao Cup a run for its money.
“It certainly won’t be like it’s been on certain occasions during my time at the club, where surviving in the Premier League has been so far and away the only thing we can put our minds to that we’ve virtually rested anyone who might be needed for the next game.
“Those aspects will feature in my thinking, but what my thinking is, at the moment, I’m afraid only I know!”
Find out the best ways to follow tonight's game here. Remember: Palace TV+ will be offering live audio commentary via cpfc.co.uk and the Official Crystal Palace app.