Five things Middlesbrough must do to beat Chelsea

With Middlesbrough taking on Premier League heavyweights Chelsea at the Riverside Stadium this evening in a delayed Fifth Round game, here are five strategies the hosts can use to overcome the European Champions and seal their passage to the Sixth Round to set up a clash against league leaders Manchester United.

1.) Attack, attack, attack

They say attack is the best form of defence, and Middlesbrough need to keep Chelsea on the defensive if they plan on securing a win against the Blues.

It nearly worked for AS Sparta Prague when they went to Stamford Bridge in the Europa League last week, and if Middlesbrough can do the same and dig in with a gutsy display, they could chalk up a win against Rafael Benitez’s men.

2.) Score early…

AS Sparta Prague scored early at Stamford Bridge, and if the Teesiders can find their David Lafata, they could pull off a win against Chelsea.

Once Sparta Prague had scored, Chelsea were forced to come out of their defensive shell because their away goal had been nullified. Sparta were then able to attack on the counter and at times dominated possession, but a combination of nervousness in front of goal and some wonderful saves from Petr Cech kept the score at 1-1 on aggregate.

That is, until Eden Hazard popped up to score a late winner with a sumptuous drive from outside the box.

3.) …or keep Chelsea from doing the same

Against Manchester City, Chelsea did display some endeavour in front of the Etihad Stadium goal, but despite having to survive a second-half Frank Lampard penalty miss, Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez scored to hand City the win.

What Middlesbrough need to do is sow seeds of doubt to remind them of their performances against City by not allowing Chelsea to score early and then take advantage of that doubt to allow one of their players to put one past either Petr Cech or Ross Turnbull.

4.) Get in Chelsea’s faces

Chelsea are a team low on confidence right now, having been convincingly beaten by Manchester City and nearly exiting the Europa League against Sparta Prague.

The Blues fans don’t like Rafael Benitez due to his time at Liverpool, and that has been transmitted into the team in the form of low morale. Middlesbrough should not be afraid to take the game to Chelsea and do the dirty work that will be required to see them into the next round.

5.) Ask the fans to make noise

“Maybe a big crowd might just spark something in the team and if we get a good performance, we can take that on into Saturday,” said Middlesbrough boss Tony Mowbray ahead of this game.

With a ticket sale of 22,500 for this game, the Riverside is expected to be packed to the rafters. Unlike some Championship games where crowds can be sparse and players need to look within to find some self-belief as they attempt to grind out a result.

But with a large crowd present, it could gee up the players and help them find that extra something to go through to the FA Cup Sixth Round.