SHEFFIELD Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal believes Middlesbrough have an unfair advantage over his team after Boro’s match against Blackburn Rovers was called off on Boxing Day.

The Ewood Park pitch was deemed unplayable after heavy rainfall overnight on Christmas Day, and the game was called off shortly before 10.30am on Boxing Day, while Wednesday won 3-0 at home to Birmingham City.

Carvalhal feels that this evening’s game should have been put back a day to allow Wednesday more time to recover.

Speaking after the Boxing Day game, Carvalhal said: "We play Middlesbrough on Monday. Nobody recovers in two days. This is a fact I accept but we go to play a team that have not played today and they have had a week to prepare.

"This is not good for the competition in my opinion. It is not fair and it is not correct. If that team can't play for the weather then put our game one day after, and the same with Blackburn and who they play.

"Everybody must play in the same conditions and the minimum is three days."

Aitor Karanka has almost a full squad to choose from today, with David Nugent the only absentee, the striker completing the third match of his suspension which should have been served on Boxing Day.

Rhys Williams is being eased back into the first team squad after recovering from an Achilles injury, while Damia Abella (cruciate) and Alex Baptiste (leg fracture) have a return to action on the horizon.

Boro returned from Lancashire on Boxing Day afternoon and trained yesterday following the Blackburn game’s postponement, which was taken amid red flood warnings in large parts of the area, including the vicinity of Ewood Park, which sits on the banks of the River Darwen.

Plenty of Boro fans had begun their journey cross-country, but the decision had been taken to postpone the fixture early enough to prevent many of the 5,500 supporters from commencing their trip in what would have been challenging conditions.

Blackburn manager Paul Lambert, having inspected the surface himself on the morning of the game, was in no doubt that the decision to postpone was the correct one.

“The pitch can withstand a lot of water but the amount of rainfall that has fallen yesterday and today has been vast. So there was no chance it was going to go ahead,” said Lambert.

“I’ve not saw a pitch like that for a long time but when it rains like it is doing, it’s in the lap of the gods.

“The disappointing thing for us was that there was going to be a really big crowd and I’m sure it was going to be a really good game.

“In the last six games only Middlesbrough and Derby County have taken more points than us so we were going into it in really good form, albeit on the back of a defeat last Sunday.

“We have been playing well and we were ready for it but you have to think of people’s safety – the supporters of Blackburn Rovers and the supporters of Middlesbrough, and obviously the players themselves. It was dangerous.”