Middlesbrough vs Accrington Stanley; The FA Cup Fourth Round
Middlesbrough vs Accrington Stanley. The FA Cup Fourth Round.
Riverside StadiumAttendance24,040.
Middlesbrough v Accrington preview: Can Stanley recapture the magic of 2013?
Saturday 28 January 2017 15:10, UK
Accrington Stanley are looking to be make the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in their history but have a tough task at Middlesbrough.
Stanley fans have sweet memories of their previous visit to the Riverside Stadium as they won there in a League Cup clash in 2013 when they came from a goal down to win 2-1.
However, Boro are a Premier League side now and have won nine of their last 10 FA Cup ties against sides from the fourth tier or lower, but were knocked out by Burton in 2010/11.
Stanley are 20th in League Two and are just two points away from the relegation zone.
Team news
Middlesbrough defender Calum Chambers will miss Saturday's tie.
Chambers, who is at Boro on loan from Arsenal, has suffered a stress fracture which could sideline him for several weeks, and will join midfielder Gaston Ramirez, the subject of a rejected transfer bid from Premier League champions Leicester, in the treatment room.
Ramirez will miss out once again with a knee problem, while Antonio Barragan continues his recovery from a hamstring problem and fellow defender Daniel Ayala completes a three-match ban, but new arrivals Rudy Gestede and Patrick Bamford are in contention to start.
Opta stats
Middlesbrough's only previous match against Accrington Stanley saw them dumped out of the League Cup in August 2013, losing 2-1.
This is Accrington Stanley's first fourth round appearance in the FA Cup since 2009/10, in which they lost 3-1 to Fulham.
Sean McConville scored and assisted in Stanley's third round win over Luton Town.
Alvaro Negredo has scored four goals in five FA Cup appearances.
Merson prediction
Boro have struggled to find the back of the net in recent weeks and they are in a bit of relegation battle. This is an opportunity for Accrington but they're not playing great themselves. I fear for Accrington that the gulf between the two sides will tell.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (5/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Middlesbrough are 1/3 to do what's expected and see of the challenge from the League Two side. However, if you do fancy an upset, then Accrington can be backed at 8/1 for the away win. All four Soccer Saturday pundits are plumping for a Boro win to nil and that's an 11/10 chance.
If you fancy the hosts to score in both halves it's 4/7. Accrington boss John Coleman has promised to attack their Premier League opponents, which could make for an open game. Over 4.5 goals can be backed at 7/2.