Venue: Riverside Stadium Date: Wednesday, 27th February K/o: 19:45
Team News
Middlesbrough will be without a host of players ahead of tonight's FA Cup fifth round encounter with holders Chelsea. Josh McEachran, Kieron Dyer and Sammy Ameobi are all ineligible, while Lukas Jutkiewicz (ankle) and Jonathan Woodgate (calf), miss out through injury. Long-term absentees Stuart Parnaby, Justin Hoyte and Julio Arca also remain out. Chelsea will be without defenders Gary Cahill (illness) and Cesar Azpilicueta (leg injury), meaning John Terry could come into contention having sat out his side's 2-0 defeat to champions Manchester City at the weekend. Manager Rafael Benitez otherwise has a fully fit squad to choose from.
Match Preview
This fifth round FA Cup clash is a re-run of the 1997 final, in which Roberto Di Matteo famously scored after 43 seconds in a 2-1 win for the Blues. The Italian's successor at Stamford Bridge, Rafael Benitez, will be hoping for similar success this season as the FA Cup represents one of only two shots at glory this season. His side's tame 2-0 surrendering to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium last weekend was perhaps among the poorest performances his side have put in this season, and the Spaniard will be looking for an instant response, starting against Championship outfit Middlesbrough. Tony Mowbray's side have lost seven of their last nine league games, and the trip to the Riverside could offer some respite for last season's Champions League winners. Tony Mowbray's men have suffered a dramatic reverse in form since the turn of the year, having dropped from third to seventh in the Championship with just one win in nine. Chelsea, by comparison, have lost just four of 15 games in 2013, and are targeting their seventh victory. A trip to Old Trafford awaits the winners, with a quarter-final tie against Manchester United looming on the horizon on Saturday 9th March.
Likely Line-Ups
Middlesbrough Steele, Bikey, Friend, McManus, Williams, Leadbitter, Bailey, Miller, Carayol, Emnes, Main Chelsea Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Mata, Lampard, Oscar, Moses, Hazard, Torres Source: BBC