Middlesbrough v Aston Villa pre-match thread

[Aldridge Villa]

We appear to have an uncanny knack of exiting cup competitions having fallen into the trap of not fielding our best XI. My sincere hope is our best starting line up go out and get the job done.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

I’ve got a ticket for this so I sincerely hope we put out a decent team and waltz through to the next round.

[pauliewalnuts]

We can't play Dougie in this one, we're going to have to rest him at some point, he's playing way too much.

[Axl Rose]

2-2

[tomd2103]

Would go as full-strength as it can possibly be without risking any injuries.  We shouldn't fear any team in the competition and have a chance, so I'd like to see us go for it.

[VillaTim]

We can't play Dougie in this one, we're going to have to rest him at some point, he's playing way too much.

Same with McGinn and Watkins .

[JD]

We can't play Dougie in this one, we're going to have to rest him at some point, he's playing way too much.

Same with McGinn and Watkins .

Agree. Would rest Pau as well to give him a bit more time to get to 100%.

We have looked knackered lately, so time for players to have a rest and those coming back to step up. 

Would play Olsen (if fit) Cash, Carlos, Lenglet, Moreno, Ramsay, Kamara, Tim, Diaby, Zaniolo, Duran.

That should be a good enough team to win and hopefully some players to get some minutes and form.   

[Skerra]

Yes, rest most of the players. Do we know what ball number Boro have for round 4?

[JD]

Yes, rest most of the players. Do we know what ball number Boro have for round 4?

Not really. Five of those players started in the last game. Kamara and Cash are first team players who play regularly. So it's only really resting a few players who have looked a bit leggy in the past three games (apart from Ollie, who doesn't stop).

[PeterWithesShin]

That starting 11 should have been good enough to see off a 4th division side. A poor performance along with an attitude that stank of "we only need to turn up to win" is why we lost and it didn't take long for 5 of the 11 to be moved out of the club.

[Toronto Villa]

That starting 11 should have been good enough to see off a 4th division side. A poor performance along with an attitude that stank of "we only need to turn up to win" is why we lost and it didn't take long for 5 of the 11 to be moved out of the club.

That’s it. There was nothing weak about that side. Loads of internationals and some fringe players who should have worked their balls off to prove themselves to a new manager. They let themselves down, the manager and the club. Cup games against lower league opponents shouldn’t be hard to negotiate based on available talent level of PL clubs and the right attitude. 

[PaulWinch again]

We can't play Dougie in this one, we're going to have to rest him at some point, he's playing way too much.

Same goes for McGinn. Although I suppose they’ve got an imminent two week break.

[Ads]

Boro have a load of injuries and an FC Cup Semi Final 3 days later. I'd be surprised if they don't rotate most of their side.

[Risso]

The players in the Stevenage game might have been good enough to win the game, but that ignores the fact that when you change half the team at once, you lose a lot of consistency and fluidity, especially when the players coming in are reserves who haven’t played much.

Given how badly this approach has served us in recent years, I’m a bit surprised this needs to be spelled out.

[Clampy]

Whilst I don't think there'll be as many changes as the Stevenage game, I can see him leaving one or two out. Konsa and Luiz maybe?