Middlesbrough: The key questions facing Aitor Karanka ahead of Middlesbrough's weekend FA Cup tie

They will start as strong favourites at the Riverside, but as Newcastle United discovered in the last round, it would be dangerous to take Oxford too lightly.

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With a crucial Premier League game at relegation rivals Crystal Palace coming seven days after the cup game, Aitor Karanka will be tempted to shuffle his pack this weekend. But how far should the Boro head coach go, and what are the other key issues facing him in three days’ time?

HOW MANY CHANGES?

Rafael Benitez made nine changes when Newcastle visited the Kassam Stadium in round four, and came unstuck. Karanka changed seven members of his starting XI for last month’s fourth-round tie with Accrington, and watched his team grind out a 1-0 win.

Will there be as many alterations this weekend? It’s possible, but unlikely. Karanka will want to rest some of his key players, so you can expect to see the likes of Alvaro Negredo and Adama Traore taken out of the firing line to ensure their availability for the trip to Selhurst Park.

There are players in the Boro squad who need a game, so Gaston Ramirez is likely to make his first start since his enforced January exile and, having scored the winner against Accrington, Stewart Downing is also set to return to the starting line-up.

With the carrot of a potential quarter-final place dangling though, Karanka should resist the urge to dismantle the core of his team. At the very least, the spine of the central defenders and central midfielders should be strong.

RUDY GESTEDE OR PATRICK BAMFORD – OR BOTH?

Rudy Gestede made his only Boro start in the fourth-round win over Accrington, and with Negredo likely to be rested at the weekend, the January signing from Aston Villa can expect to find himself back in the starting side.

Patrick Bamford also started in round four, but was not even on the substitutes’ bench for Boro’s goalless draw with Everton in the league last weekend.

Karanka will be keen to give the former Boro trainee some game time, so there’s every chance he’ll start against Oxford.

But would he benefit from a run down the middle rather than a place on either the left or right flank? If Bamford and Gestede both play, the latter will be the central striker. Does Bamford need some time in that role?

STICK WITH THE SAME FORMATION – OR RETURN TO A DIFFERENT SHAPE?

Having started the season with the 4-2-3-1 formation that helped Boro win promotion from the Championship last season, Karanka quickly concluded he needed some additional midfield protection in the top-flight.

So in came a third central midfielder, with Boro adopting a 4-5-1 formation that can become more of a 4-3-3 when they are on the attack.

Is that necessary against League One opposition tomorrow? If Karanka was to take either Marten de Roon, Adam Clayton or Adam Forshaw out of the team, instead of replacing them with Grant Leadbitter, in a like-for-like move, might it be better to throw in Ramirez or January signing Adlene Guedioura as a genuine number ten?

Oxford will throw plenty of men behind the ball on Saturday, so the onus will be on Boro’s creative players to break them down. Naming three defensive central midfielders might well make it more difficult to do that.

WHO SHOULD PLAY IN GOAL?

It has become commonplace for Premier League managers to change their goalkeeper for the cup competitions, even though it could be argued that defensive stability should not be discarded lightly.

Victor Valdes has not started in any of Boro’s cup matches this season, and that is unlikely to change against Oxford. However, Karanka still has a decision to make – Dimi Konstantopoulos or Brad Guzan?

At the start of the season, it looked as though Konstantopoulos had made his final appearance in a Boro shirt, but Guzan’s desire to return to the United States later this summer appears to have turned Karanka against him.

Konstantopoulos started against Accrington, and has been on the bench in Boro’s most recent league games. As a result, the popular Greek veteran must be a strong favourite to get the nod in three days’ time.

HOW TO GUARD AGAINST COMPLACENCY

This season’s FA Cup has been littered with top-flight teams going out at the hands of lower-league opposition. Most made a large number of changes, and most appeared either lethargic or uninterested as they crashed out of the cup.

Playing at home should help Boro in that regard. The Riverside will be far from sold-out this weekend, but a healthy home crowd should help focus minds. The fact there is a quarter-final place at stake should also mitigate against the risk of Boro failing to make it out of first gear.

However, Karanka still has to strike the right tone when discussing this weekend’s game with his players. Yes, the league has to be the priority. But if Karanka makes the FA Cup feel like an after-thought, that is exactly how his players will approach the competition.

This weekend’s game should be presented as a huge opportunity rather than an unwanted distraction before the ‘real business’ of securing Premier League safety resumes. Beat Oxford, and Boro are just one game away from a semi-final trip to Wembley.