PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: MIDDLESBROUGH V CHELSEA
TACTICAL BRIEF
Chelsea travelling to Cleveland in the FA Cup provokes memories of Wembley 1997 and that record-breaking early goal. What are the potential game-changers this evening?
Key battles
It is difficult to assess how Boro boss Tony Mowbray will approach this game because, as terrace critics charge, he constantly changes things round. He has countered that claim by pointing out that the same approach was successful in the first half of the season.
He seems to prefer a 4-4-1-1 formation but has used 4-5-1, 4-1-4-1 and 3-4-3 set-ups in the last few months. Injuries and the lack of success over recent weeks have contributed to him continually experimenting with his personnel and formations.
This evening, again, he will pick a side he thinks is right for this match rather than stick with a trusted formula. It is in defence that he has the most concerns - Millwall were able easily to exploit misunderstandings at the back to win 2-1 last weekend.
The Boro manager will hope experienced players such as centre-half Jonathan Woodgate are fit and ready, although he has a problem at right-back as Justin Hoyte and Stuart Parnaby are both injured.
Whoever plays wide left for Chelsea may see an opportunity to go at the temporary solution there, Nick Bailey, who is generally a midfielder. On the other flank George Friend likes to join the attack and the Blues will hope to exploit gaps between him and whoever plays centre-back tonight.
Also in doubt is the participation of Lukas Jutkiewicz, second-top scorer with eight goals behind former Celt Scott McDonald (10), who damaged his ankle in the 1-4 defeat by Palace.
Boro's is a young squad but peppered with Premier League experience. Midfielder Grant Leadbitter, who usually handles corners, has played Chelsea four times previously (for Sunderland) and was on the losing side each time.
His former and present teammate Julio Arca has better memories from his six matches against the Blues. He was part of the Mackems side that beat the Blues twice in 2000/01: a 1-0 at the Stadium of Light and a surprise 4-2 win at the Bridge. However the 32-year-old has to watch from the sidelines as he is recovering from a toe operation.
In the 1-2 defeat by Millwall at the Riverside Mowbray implemented a 4-3-3 with Chelsea's highly-rated youngster Josh McEachran in an unfamiliar deep-lying midfield role. Josh, who generally plays further forward, is ineligible for this evening's meeting.
Kieron Dyer (pictured below), more better known as a winger, played up front in the centre, dropping deep to bring wide men into play. Marvin Emnes, the striker who has netted once since October, was on the left, with 20-year-old goal threat Curtis Main, signed from Darlington, on the right.
Whichever personnel are upfront for Boro they will face a Chelsea defence missing injured right-back Cesar Azpilicueta and virus victim Gary Cahill. That almost certainly means a return at the heart of defence for John Terry, who scored in the previous round of this competition against Brentford.
Most teams devise special measures to restrict supply to the influential Juan Mata, who can be such a threat on the edge of the area and has a fine goalscoring record in this competition.
With West Brom in the league looming, though, the creative burden may land on the shoulders of others. Oscar, Fernando Torres and Victor Moses began the game at Eastlands on the bench and may start tonight.
Torres and fellow forward Demba Ba will both look to tonight to end their personal goalless spells.
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