The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Coventry City in the EFL Championship on New Year's Day, while the Lions secured a thrilling 3-2 Premier League win over Burnley on December 30.
Follow Us
Middlesbrough will play host to Aston Villa in a FA Cup third round tie at Riverside Stadium on Saturday. The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Coventry City in the EFL Championship on New Year’s Day, while the Lions secured a thrilling 3-2 Premier League win over Burnley on December 30. The victory helped the visitors to climb to second spot in the English top flight standings, having collected 42 points from 20 games, just three adrift of the summit, while Boro are occupying 12th position in the second tier table, with 36 points to their name from 26 games.
Our first game of 2024 awaits. đź‘Š pic.twitter.com/osCpOVaqol
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 3, 2024
Middlesbrough ended 2023 with a 2-1 win away to Huiddersfield Town thanks to second-half efforts from Josh Coburn and Jonny Howson. It was their 11th second tier victory of the campaign, but two days later, Boro suffered their 12th league defeat of the season against Coventry at Riverside Stadium despite taking the lead through Coburn’s 31st-minute opener. Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s brace and Haji Wright’s lone goal handed Middlesbrough their fifth defeat from last ten outings. Michael Carrick’s side were beaten at this stage of the FA Cup by Brighton & Hove Albion in the 2022-23 season and have only progressed past round three once since the 2018-19 term.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, are in scintillating form having lost only one of their last 12 outings across all competitions, winning eight matches in the period. Villa’s ten-game unbeaten run in all competitions came an end at Old Trafford on December 27 despite going into the break with a 2-0 lead thanks to John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker. However, three days later, Unai Emery’s side bounced back with a thrilling victory against Burnley courtesy of one goal each from Leon Bailey, Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz. The result helped the Lions to move two points clear of Manchester City and Arsenal. Though FA Cup success would come secondary to moving up the Premier League table, Villa would be bidding to avoid an eighth successive elimination in the third round.
Middlesbrough probable starting lineup: Glover, Van den Berg, Fry, Clarke, Bangura, Howson, Barlaser, Jones, Rogers, Greenwood, Coburn
Aston Villa probable starting lineup: Martinez, Chambers, Konsa, Lenglet, Moreno, Zaniolo, McGinn, Kamara, Bailey, Duran, Watkins
Middlesbrough
| Opponents | Score |
| Coventry | 1-3 (L) |
| Huddersfield | 1-2 (W) |
| Rotherham | 1-0 (L) |
| West Brom | 1-0 (W) |
| Port Vale | 0-3 (W) |
Aston Villa
| Opponents | Score |
| Burnley | 3-2 (W) |
| Manchester United | 3-2 (L) |
| Sheffield United | 1-1 (D) |
| Brentford | 1-2 (W) |
| Zrinjski | 1-1 (D) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Aston Villa beat Middlesbrough | 3-0 |
| Aston Villa beat Middlesbrough | 0-3 |
| Aston Villa draw Middlesbrough | 0-0 |
| Aston Villa beat Middlesbrough | 0-1 |
| Aston Villa beat Middlesbrough | 0-1 |
The FA Cup fixture between Middlesbrough and Aston Villa will take place at Riverside Stadium on Saturday at 11:00 pm IST.
| Middlesbrough vs Aston Villa | Key Details |
| Date | January 6 |
| Venue | Riverside Stadium |
| Kickoff time in UK | 5:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 11:00 pm |
Football fans in the UK can catch the live action via BBC network.
More football news:
Liverpool vs Newcastle United: What did the Reds discuss at half-time? Curtis Jones responds
