Manchester United will be looking to secure their spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup when they welcome Championship outfit Middlesbrough to Old Trafford on Friday night.
The Red Devils beat fellow Premier League side Aston Villa 1-0 to progress to this round of the competition, while Middlesbrough recorded a 3-2 victory over League Two team Mansfield Town.
Match preview
© Reuters
Man United made it three wins in their last four matches in all competitions when they beat West Ham United 1-0 before the break, with Marcus Rashford's last-gasp winner securing a vital three points for the Red Devils, who currently occupy fourth position in the Premier League table.
Ralf Rangnick's side also overcame Brentford in the league on January 19, while they booked their spot in the fourth round of this season's FA Cup courtesy of a 1-0 success over Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
Off-the-field matters involving Mason Greenwood means that the build-up to this match has been overshadowed, but the players will be raring to go following a short break, and the Red Devils are still fighting on three fronts this season, with the first leg of their last-16 Champions League contest with Atletico Madrid due to take place at Wanda Metropolitano on February 23.
Man United are the second-most successful side in the history of the FA Cup, winning the competition on 12 occasions, the last of which was in 2016, while they lost in the quarter-finals to Leicester City last season and Chelsea in the semi-finals of the 2019-20 campaign.
Friday's contest will be the first time that the 20-time English champions have faced Middlesbrough since a Premier League contest in March 2017, with the Red Devils running out 3-1 winners at the Riverside Stadium courtesy of goals from Marouane Fellaini, Jesse Lingard and Antonio Valencia.
© Reuters
Middlesbrough will certainly be the underdogs heading into Friday's contest, but the visitors should be full of confidence, having in excellent form since the end of November.
Indeed, Boro have won eight of their last 10 matches in all competitions, suffering just one defeat in the process, which includes a 3-2 success over Mansfield in the third round of the FA Cup on January 8.
Chris Wilder's side beat Coventry City 1-0 on January 29 to move into sixth spot in the Championship table, and they will certainly have their eye on a possible return to the Premier League for next season.
Wilder's impact at the Riverside Stadium has been huge, winning eight of his 12 games in charge, and while the league is the priority for the 54-year-old this season, the chance to progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup at the expense of Man United is not an opportunity that comes around too often.
Middlesbrough - back in Championship action against Queens Park Rangers on February 9 - have never won the FA Cup, but they did reach the final in 1997, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Wembley.
- W
- W
- L
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Man United interim head coach Rangnick has said that Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw will both be involved on Friday following spells out, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka should be available following a period on the sidelines through illness.
Jadon Sancho should also be included in the squad following personal issues, but Edinson Cavani will not feature due to his involvement for Uruguay over the international break, while Victor Lindelof (illness), Eric Bailly (ankle) and Jesse Lingard (personal) are all out.
Greenwood has been suspended by the club and will not be involved for the foreseeable future, so Rashford could feature on the right, while Nemanja Matic and Anthony Elanga should both start.
Rangnick will certainly have one eye on the Premier League clash with Burnley on February 8, but Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to start for the Red Devils, while David de Gea could retain his spot between the sticks despite the presence of Dean Henderson, who has hardly been involved this term.
As for Middlesbrough, new signing Riley McGree has tested positive for coronavirus while on international duty with Australia, so he will not be involved in this match.
Sammy Ameobi, Darnell Fisher and Marc Bola remain on the sidelines, while James Lea Siliki is still on international duty, but on-loan Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun is expected to make his first start for the club.
Wilder is likely to select a strong side at Old Trafford, with Andraz Sporar potentially joining Balogun in the final third of the field, but the likes of Duncan Watmore, Lee Peltier and Martin Payero will also be hoping to be given minutes in the FA Cup contest.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Matic, McTominay; Rashford, Fernandes, Elanga; Ronaldo
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Lumley; McNair, Bamba, Fry; Jones, Howson, Crooks, Tavernier, Taylor; Sporar, Balogun
We say: Manchester United 2-1 Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough will head to Old Trafford full of confidence, and the Championship side are more than capable of making this a tricky affair for Man United. The Red Devils showed plenty of positive signs against West Ham last time out, though, and we are backing them to progress to the fifth round of the competition.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester United win with a probability of 58.25%. A draw had a probability of 22.8% and a win for Middlesbrough had a probability of 18.98%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester United win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.63%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.57%) and 2-1 (9.85%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.83%), while for a Middlesbrough win it was 0-1 (5.96%).
