PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: MIDDLESBROUGH V CHELSEA
The reward for a replay win in the last round is a midweek visit to Teesside. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton look at some fifth-round facts and figures…
TALKING POINTS
Middlesbrough in the FA Cup. Di Matteo 43 seconds. Zola cavorting in a jester's hat. Matthew Harding remembered. A major trophy after 26 years without. The first fruits of the Chelsea revolution two years after it begun in 1995.
For the Boro fans the day reflected a sad swansong for an already relegated side, docked three points for an injudicious no-show at Christmas and beaten in both cup finals.
The clubs have been on different trajectories but Boro are vying for a return to the top flight and will sense the vulnerability of the Londoners, who have managed just five wins in 15 matches this year.
The Teessiders will also be aware that perhaps the last thing Chelsea want is a replay in this competition to be shoehorned into an already congested match schedule.
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The last two emphatic victories aside, Teesside has often been an unhappy arena for the current champions of Europe. Boro will also draw strength from holding out against eventual winners Swansea from the Premier League until the 81st minute in the Capital One Cup this season.
Tottenham's rise above the Blues on Monday comes ahead of the north London derby at White Hart Lane on Sunday, while the day before Chelsea face a West Bromwich Albion side stripped of their top scorer, on-loan Blue Romelu Lukaku.
Both Chelsea's incumbent forwards are in need of a goal. Fernando Torres has not hit the net in six games and it is seven for the masked Demba Ba.
In that period the Blues' midfield has carried the goalscoring burden, with Frank Lampard netting four times, Juan Mata three, Eden Hazard and Oscar twice, and Marko Marin, Ramires and defender John Terry once apiece.
A high level of intensity from the off might be in order too: the Blues have managed just two first-half strikes in the last nine matches. The FA Cup against a Championship side missing several players must offer the chance to rebuild confidence.
Middlesbrough themselves are in a trough. After the home win against Leeds on 12 February they occupied the lowest Championship play-off place with a degree of comfort. The four-point cushion was lost with three winless matches since and Gustavo Poyet's Brighton have overtaken them.
Over the first half of the season, 10 home wins from 13 had Teesside buzzing but after losing at home to Millwall last weekend they slipped out of the top six for the first time since October and promotion must be the club's first priority.
In fact that result against Leeds is the only victory for Tony Mowbray's side in nine league outings, seven of which have ended in defeat.
The FA Cup provided some respite in January but they arrived at this stage of the competition by beating first non-league Hastings, 4-1, then League Two strugglers Aldershot by the odd goal in three.
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Boro have been waiting a month to play their third match in this competition while the busy Blues found a gap in the diary to dispense with Brentford.
The winners of this match will play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday 10 March - the date Chelsea FC were founded in 1905.
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The game between Middlesbrough and Chelsea can be viewed in full on Chelsea TV at midnight.
