Tottenham Hotspur will be aiming to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup when they travel to the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday evening to take on Middlesbrough.
Spurs beat Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 at home in the previous round of the competition, while Middlesbrough overcame Manchester United at Old Trafford, winning a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.
Match preview
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Middlesbrough were second best for long stages of their clash with Man United in the fourth round of the competition, and it would be fair to say that their leveller from Matt Crooks was controversial, with Duncan Watmore appearing to handle the ball before his teammate converted from close range.
Crooks's goal was allowed to stand, though, and Boro, who reached the final of the 1997 FA Cup before losing to Chelsea, won 8-7 on penalties at Old Trafford to advance to the fifth round, and they will now be looking to claim another Premier League scalp in the shape of Tottenham.
Chris Wilder's side will enter Tuesday's contest off the back of a 3-2 defeat at Barnsley in the Championship on Saturday, which left them in eighth spot in the table, two points off the top six.
Boro have actually won their last seven matches in front of their own supporters so should be full of confidence heading into Tuesday's contest, especially as they have not lost a home FA Cup tie since January 2018, including a 1-1 draw with Tottenham in the third round of the 2019-20 competition before losing the replay.
Middlesbrough have not beaten Spurs in any competition since a 2-1 success in the Premier League back in August 2008, though, which proved to be their first victory over the North London club since May 2005.
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Following their 3-2 victory away to Manchester City on February 19, Tottenham were brought crashing back down to earth at Burnley last week, suffering a 1-0 defeat to the Clarets at Turf Moor.
Antonio Conte's side returned to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, though, beating Leeds United 4-0 in the Premier League, with the result leaving them in seventh spot in the table, five points behind fourth-placed Manchester United with two games in hand.
Spurs have had to win two home matches to progress to this stage of the FA Cup, recording a 3-1 victory over Morecambe on January 9 before beating Brighton by the same scoreline at the start of February.
Tottenham have won the FA Cup on eight previous occasions, the last of which was in 1991, when they beat Nottingham Forest in the final, and the North London club have not managed to win a major trophy since lifting the League Cup in 2008, which is simply too long for a team of their ilk.
Conte will be desperate to lead his side into the quarter-finals of the competition on Tuesday night, but Middlesbrough have already shown this season that they are capable of beating top-tier opposition.
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Team News
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Middlesbrough will again be without the services of Marc Bola due to a knee injury, but Crooks is back from a suspension and should return to the starting side.
There is every chance that Wilder could select the same XI that started the previous round against Man United, with Folarin Balogun being joined by Andraz Sporar in the final third of the field.
As a result, Watmore, who played a key role in Boro's leveller at Old Trafford, is likely to drop down to the bench, while Crooks's return is likely to see James Lea Siliki come out of the side.
As for Tottenham, Rodrigo Bentancur will miss out with an ankle problem, while Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga are still on the sidelines due to their recent issues.
Lucas Moura will also be unavailable for the FA Cup contest, having missed out on Saturday's match against Leeds due to a knock that he picked up in training.
Conte could freshen his wing-backs for this match, with Emerson Royal and Sergio Reguilon potentially coming into the side, while Davinson Sanchez could replace Cristian Romero at the back, but Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski should start as the front three once again.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Dijksteel, Fry, McNair; Jones, Crooks, Howson, Tavernier, Taylor; Balogun, Sporar
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Winks, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
We say: Middlesbrough 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham will not take Middlesbrough lightly, and it is set to be a fascinating battle at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday night. We fancy the home side to score at some stage, but Kane and Son were excellent against Leeds at the weekend, and the pair could combine again to send Spurs into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Top tip
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 Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 45.58%. A win for Middlesbrough had a probability of 29.39% and a draw had a probability of 25%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.86%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.24%) and 0-2 (7.69%). The likeliest Middlesbrough win was 1-0 (7.61%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.85%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 7.6% likelihood.
