SPORTS • FA Cup: Will Middlesbrough Maintain the Energy? • Khusoko

The FA Cup has produced some thrilling upsets thus far in 2022, and second-tier Middlesbrough will be hoping to continue their incredible run. Boro has already put out heavyweights Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – this weekend they will have the chance to come up against Chelsea at the Riverside Stadium.

Manager Chris Wilder will hope his side can overcome the Blues and advance into the semifinals – though he knows the odds are stacked against his charges. “Chelsea is a world-class team with a great manager, they are going to be the toughest test we have faced at any point this season,” said Wilder. “But with home support behind us, a little bit of luck, and the magic of the FA Cup… anything is possible!”

There are two all-Premier League ties, with Crystal Palace and Everton meeting at Selhurst Park, with both sets of fans desperately craving a trip to Wembley, while Southampton will welcome Manchester City to St Mary’s Stadium.

Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is hoping that their cup run and solid form in the Premier League convince key players such as James Ward-Prowse and Mohammed Salisu to remain with the club.

“I think we have now a situation which is a very good learning atmosphere here at the moment, everybody improves, everybody has a positive effect. This is not something normally naturally given in this business,” said the Austrian.

“You have tough moments and we also had those here, where it is not so nice to be in this club. But at the moment you can feel that the team is growing and we are in a very good flow I think. That doesn’t mean that super-talented guys have to stay with us for the next 10 years. Everybody is ambitious and wants one time in his life to come to a top club.”

The quarterfinals also feature EFL Championship club Nottingham Forest hosting Liverpool. The Reds, after winning the Carabao Cup last month and keeping themselves in the fight for the UEFA Champions League and Premier League, need to win this clash to keep alive hopes of an unprecedented quadruple.

“No team in the history of English football has won the quadruple, right? That is because it is incredibly difficult,” said manager Jurgen Klopp. “The only team who could get it is us because we won the first final but even City, with all the quality they have in the last years, couldn’t win the quadruple.”

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