Chelsea will travel to Middlesbrough for their FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday and their mode of transportation has hit headlines in the build-up.
Earlier in the week manager Thomas Tuchel had said the Blues couldn’t fly because of the cap on travel spend put on the club due to Roman Abramovich’s sanctions. However, in his press conference on Friday Tuchel said they would be able to take a plane.
He said: “Everybody worked hard to make it happen and it has gone through. We can travel by plane which is very good as we only had the Lille match two days ago so we want to maximise the chance of recovery. Everything is organised as usual.”
Tuchel didn’t explain how they overcame the barrier of the away travel spend cap in the presser.
But who is more likely to win and how could the teams line-up? Here’s all you need to know.
When is it?
The fixture will kick-off at 5.15pm on Saturday, 19 March at the Riverside Stadium.
How can I watch?
The match will be shown on BBC One and fans will also be able to stream the match on BBC iPlayer.
Team news
Middlesbrough are set to welcome back Andraz Sporar and James Lea Siliki after they had spells out with illness. However, Riley McGree is still out with a calf injury.
For Chelsea, long-term injured star Ben Chilwell won’t be available for the quarter-final. It’s not likely Andreas Christensen will feature either after he suffered a muscle problem. There is also doubt over Reece James and it’s thought Tuchel will make a late call on whether he plays.
Confirmed line-ups
Middlesbrough: Lumley; Dijksteel, Fry, McNair; Jones, Tavernier, Howson, Crooks, Taylor; Balogun, Connolly
Chelsea: Mendy; Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Sarr; Azpilicueta, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Ziyech; Mount, Pulisic; Lukaku
Odds
Middlesbrough - 11/2
Draw - 16/5
Chelsea - 1/2
Prediction
Chelsea may be going through financial issues due to Roman Abramovich’s sanctions but the team will still perform well and it will be difficult for Middlesbrough to overcome them. It won’t be easy for Chelsea either but the visitors should come away with the win. Middlesbrough 0-2 Chelsea.
