Middlesbrough are in action in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday when they take on Premier League side Aston Villa.

Here are all the details you need to know about the game…


WHERE IS THE GAME TAKING PLACE?

Middlesbrough have home advantage for Saturday’s third-round tie, with the game taking place at the Riverside.

This will be Boro’s first meeting with Aston Villa since the 2018-19 season, when they suffered 3-0 defeats at both the Riverside and Villa Park. Their last win over Villa came in the League Cup in 2017 when two goals from Patrick Bamford secured a 2-0 win in the Midlands.

The two sides’ most recent meeting in the FA Cup came all the way back in January 1957 when Villa claimed a 3-2 victory at Ayresome Park.


WHAT TIME IS KICK-OFF?

Saturday’s game is an early-evening encounter, kicking off at 5.30pm.


ARE TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE?

Yes – tickets for the home sections of the Riverside are still available for Saturday’s game via the ticketing section of Middlesbrough’s official website.

General sale tickets are priced at £25 for adults. £20 for Over-65s and £15 for Under-18s.


IS THE GAME BEING TELEVISED OR STREAMED LIVE?

Yes – Saturday’s game has been selected for live television coverage and is being screened on BBC One, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and App.

With the game being broadcast live on terrestrial TV, there is no domestic streaming available.

Radio coverage of Saturday’s game will be available on BBC Radio Five Live and BBC Radio Tees. The Northern Echo’s Dominic Shaw will be at the Riverside producing a live blog, report, ratings, reaction and analysis on The Northern Echo’s website.


WHAT IS MIDDLESBROUGH’S LIKELY LINE-UP?

Finn Azaz should have completed his move from Aston Villa to Middlesbrough in time to feature in the squad for Saturday’s game.

The attacking-midfielder, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Plymouth Argyle, is eligible to play in the FA Cup tie, but could well be on the bench given his lack of training time with Boro’s first-team squad.

Hayden Hackney, Matt Crooks and Emmanuel Latte Lath have all returned to training this week, and should feature in the squad for Saturday’s game.

However, with Boro taking on Chelsea in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday, Michael Carrick might decide to name the trio on the bench against Villa in order to give them the best possible chance of starting against the Blues.

Middlesbrough (probable, 4-2-3-1): Glover, van den Berg, Fry, Clarke, Engel; Howson, Barlaser; Jones, Rogers, Greenwood; Coburn.


HOW ARE VILLA SHAPING UP?

Aston Villa are having a superb season under Unai Emery and currently occupy second position in the Premier League table, three points adrift of league leaders Liverpool.

They remain in Europe, so there is a strong chance Emery will look to make a number of changes for Saturday’s game.

Bertrand Traore is unavailable after being called up by Burkina Faso for the Africa Cup of Nations, while Tyrone Mings (knee), Emi Buendia (knee) and Lucas Digne (thigh) are also expected to miss out.

Matty Cash (illness) and Youri Tielemans (calf) are doubts, but Boubacar Kamara is available after completing a suspension and the likes of Calum Chambers, Leander Dendoncker and Jhon Duran are pushing for a start.

Aston Villa (probable, 4-3-3): Martinez; Chambers, Carlos, Lenglet, Moreno; McGinn, Dendoncker, Ramsey; Bailey, Dhuran, Zaniolo.