It's Aitor Karanka vs Pep Guardiola in the FA Cup on Saturday as Middlesbrough host Manchester City in the English football competition's quarterfinals match at the Riverside Stadium. The battle is definitely skewed in City's favour, but looking at the upsets caused in the FA Cup over the years, anything is possible.
Middlesbrough have ousted Manchester City as many as four times in their last five FA Cup meetings; the most recent one being in the 2014-15 season.
Man City, Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur -- the giants of English football are competing at the FA Cup quarterfinals this time around, with Lincoln City and Millwall being the other teams involved, along with Boro.
Guardiola would surely like a place in the semifinals of the revered English football competition and one thing's guaranteed, the former Barcelona coach will be fielding a strong team.
The big boost for the away side is the return to fitness of defensive rock Vincent Kompany, who could play in his first match in as many as six weeks on Saturday.
Every possible pressure is definitely on Aitor Karanka's side, who entered the FA Cup quarterfinals following a win against Oxford United. Boro are currently battling relegation in the Premier League, and the morale is pretty low.
That said, staying positive remains the key. "When someone tells me we are in an awful situation, for me, to be in the Premier League, to be in the quarter-finals, is an amazing situation," mentioned Karanka at the pre-match presser.
"For a team like us, we knew that was going to happen. We just have to try to win and show everybody that we are in a really good moment."
Match schedule
Date: March 11
Time: 12.15 pm GMT (5.45 pm IST)
Venue: Riverside Stadium
Where to watch live
India: TV: Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv.
UK: TV: BT Sport 2. Live Streaming: Watch BT Sport.
USA: TV: Fox Sports 1. Live Streaming: Fox Sports Go.
Radio commentary: BBC Radio 5 Live.
Live commentary: Twitter.
