FA Cup: Middlesbrough host Chelsea hoping to dump the holders out of the competition

Last updated: 27th February 2013   Subscribe to RSS Feed

FA Cup: Middlesbrough host Chelsea hoping to dump the holders out of the competition

Tony Mowbray: Is hoping his side can spring a surprise and knock holders Chelsea out of the FA Cup

Opta Facts

Related links

News

Preview

Report

Video

Feature

Teams

Also see

Middlesbrough are hoping to cause a real shock by dumping holders Chelsea out of the FA Cup fifth round at the Riverside on Wednesday evening.

Middlesbrough will be without Josh McEacharan, who is ineligible to play against his parent club Chelsea.

Sammy Ameobi and Kieron Dyer are both cup-tied having played for other sides earlier in the competition.

Boro boss Tony Mowbray also has a number of injuries to contend with, especially in defence, with Jonathan Woodgate (calf), Stuart Parnaby (hamstring), Justin Hoyte (hip) and Julio Arca (toe) all sidelined.

Striker Lukas Jutkiewicz is also set to miss out as he recovers from an ankle injury.The FA Cup has provided a rare source of cheer for Middlesbrough fans in 2013, with a run of just one win in nine league games seeing them drop from third down to seventh in the Championship.

Their only other victories this calendar year have come in the cup against Hastings and Aldershot.

Tony Mowbray's side are bidding to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since 2009.

Chelsea interim boss Rafa Benitez, meanwhile, has been forced to play down reports of a bust-up with his players in training following their 2-0 defeat at Manchester City at the weekend.

The Spaniard insisted he just held a "normal" conversation with the squad following the loss, with Benitez concerned at a run of just one win in four league games that has seen them drop to fourth in the Premier League.

Blues fans can at least take solace in their formidable recent record in the FA Cup. The seven-time winners have lifted the trophy in four of the last six seasons and are unbeaten in their last 26 cup ties in the regulation 90 minutes.

They also have an impressive recent record against Middlesbrough, winning their last four encounters, scoring 13 goals while conceding none.

The match is a repeat of the 1997 final, which Chelsea won 2-0 at the old Wembley thanks to goals from Roberto Di Matteo and Eddie Newton.

The winners of the tie face a trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United in round six.Middlesbrough will be without Josh McEacharan, who is ineligible to play against his parent club Chelsea.

Sammy Ameobi and Kieron Dyer are both cup-tied having played for other sides earlier in the competition.

Boro boss Tony Mowbray also has a number of injuries to contend with, especially in defence, with Jonathan Woodgate (calf), Stuart Parnaby (hamstring), Justin Hoyte (hip) and Julio Arca (toe) all sidelined.

Striker Lukas Jutkiewicz is also set to miss out as he recovers from an ankle injury.

Chelsea skipper John Terry is poised to return to the starting line-up, replacing Gary Cahill who has a virus.

Terry is being eased back into first-team action as he continues his recovery from a knee injury sustained in November and was on the bench for the weekend defeat at the Etihad.

Full-back Cesar Azpilicueta is also out with a leg injury, meaning Branislav Ivanovic should move across to right-back, with Terry partnering David Luiz in the middle.