FA Cup | Third Round

Jan 11, 2025 at 12pm UK

Riverside Stadium

Middlesbrough vs Blackburn

Match preview

Middlesbrough extended their unbeaten run to six games at the weekend, but only two of those ended in victory.

Being held 1-1 by Cardiff City saw the gap to the automatic places grow bigger, so the playoffs are the only realistic hope fifth-place Boro now have of returning to the Premier League after almost a decade away.

It's been 20 years since Boro last won a major honour, when Steve McClaren led them to the League Cup in 2004, but they've never managed to add the FA Cup to the trophy cabinet.

The closest they came was in 1997, when they lost in the final of both the League Cup and the FA Cup. The home fans will be hoping for a better showing in this competition than they got in the League Cup, where they lost 5-0 at home to Stoke City at the first hurdle.

But if you look at their recent performances, it doesn't seem like they're on a roll. Boro have lost at this stage of the FA Cup in four of the last five seasons, including the last two. You have to go back to the mid-1980s to find the last time they lost in the third round three seasons in a row.

The hosts have beaten Blackburn in their last two FA Cup meetings, but the most recent was way back in 2002, with Rovers doing really well in this fixture in recent years.

Blackburn haven't lost in their last 10 visits to the Riverside, and they also won 1-0 here earlier this season in the Championship. Eustace will hope he can continue the club's fine recent performances in the competition.

They were quarter-finalists in 2022-23 and made it to the fifth round last season, which is a big improvement on the five years between 2018 and 2022, when they went out in the third round every time.

While they were Premier League champions in the mid-1990s, Blackburn were a much better outfit in the FA Cup during the 2000s, reaching the semi-finals twice. Even since dropping into the lower leagues, they've been quarter-finalists three times in the last 11 years.

But it's been nearly 100 years since the Lancashire club last won the competition, and they haven't reached the final since 1960. Their recent poor form also comes at the worst possible time for anyone hoping they'd do well in the cup.

Blackburn's chances of being promoted have been hit hard recently, with only two points from their last five games, including a loss at home to their rivals Burnley last weekend at Ewood Park.

It looks like their six wins in a row from early November to mid-December were just a flash in the pan. Blackburn are now in seventh place, just one point ahead of the playoff places.

Recent Performance

Middlesbrough form (all competitions):WDDDWD

Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions):WLDLDL

Team News

Boro are going to be without a bunch of first-team players, like Luke Ayling, Jonny Howson, Aidan Morris, Marcus Forss, and both goalkeepers Seny Dieng and Sol Brynn. So Aussie stopper Tom Glover has come in from the cold and started the last three matches, but has only faced three shots on target in that time.

Tommy Conway is also a doubt, so he might not get the chance to face one of his favourite opponents. He scored three goals in four matches against them last season, and he almost scored again in the third round last season when he scored twice for Bristol City against West Ham United.

The hosts will not be short of a goal threat though, with Emmanuel Latte Lath in red-hot form, notching his 10th league goal of the season against Cardiff last time out.

Blackburn, on the other hand, are missing their top scorer Yuki Ohashi due to injury, and influential Lewis Travis is also currently sidelined.

Eustace might still be without attacking midfielder Arnor Sigurdsson, and defensive trio Harry Pickering, Hayden Carter and Scott Wharton are also absent. But Todd Cantwell returned last weekend after a minor setback.

Possible starting lineup

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Glover; Dijksteel, Van den Berg, Fry, Neto Borges; Barlaser, Hackney; Jones, Gilbert, Burgzorg; Latte Lath

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Pears; Rankin-Costello, Hyam, Batth, Beck; Tronstad, Buckley; Weimann, Cantwell, Hedges; Leonard