MIDDLESBROUGH have been handed a daunting trip to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Boro’s reward for Saturday’s third-round win at Barnsley is a trip to the Etihad Stadium on the weekend of January 24 to take on Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

Sunderland fared rather better in tonight’s fourth-round draw and will entertain Championship opposition for the second game in a row after they were handed a home tie with either Fulham or Wolves.

The Championship sides played out a goalless draw at Craven Cottage on Saturday and will replay at Molineux next week.

Boro’s trip to Manchester will be one of the most eagerly-awaited fourth-round ties, and having drawn at Liverpool earlier in the season in the Capital One Cup, only to go on to lose a marathon penalty shoot-out, Aitor Karanka’s side will not be intimidated by the prospect of taking on one of the leading sides in the Premier League.

The two teams last met in the FA Cup as recently as January 2010, with Benjani scoring the only goal of the game as a much-changed Manchester City side claimed a 1-0 win at the Riverside.

Boro’s last trip to the Etihad saw a Craig Bellamy goal condemn them to a 1-0 defeat in 2009, but the Teessiders famously secured a draw on the ground on the final day of the 2004-05 season, a result that enabled them to qualify for the following season’s UEFA Cup.

Sunderland saw off Championship opposition in the shape of Leeds United on Sunday, and will entertain second-tier opposition once again as they look to maintain their impressive cup record under Gus Poyet.

Wolves and Fulham will stage their replay next Tuesday, with the former likely to start as marginal favourites given that they are nine places above their opponents in the Championship table.

The pick of the other fourth-round ties will see Cambridge United, the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, entertain Manchester United.

Cup holders Arsenal travel to Championship side Brighton, with Birmingham City hosting West Brom in a West Midlands derby.

Fourth-round draw:

Southampton or Ipswich vs Crystal Palace, Cambridge vs Man United, Blackburn vs Swansea, Chelsea vs Millwall or Bradford, Derby vs Scunthorpe or Chesterfield, Preston vs Sheff United, Birmingham vs West Brom, Aston Villa vs Bournemouth, Cardiff vs Reading, AFC Wimbledon or Liverpool vs Bolton, Burnley or Tottenham vs Leicester, Brighton vs Arsenal, Rochdale vs Stoke, SUNDERLAND vs Fulham or Wolves, Doncaster or Bristol City vs Everton or West Ham, Man City vs MIDDLESBROUGH

(Matches to be played on the weekend of January 24)