Middlesbrough vs Brighton & Hove Albion: Who will advance to the Third Round of the FA Cup?

Overview

Come January 7th, 2021, Middlesbrough and Brighton & Hove Albion will lock horns in the third round of the FA Cup. In what is bound to be an exciting game, who will emerge victorious and advance to the next stage of the competition?

The Teams

Middlesbrough are currently in the second-tier of England’s football pyramid. They sit in the playoff, hoping to make it back to the Championship. Their coach Jonathan Woodgate has got the team playing attacking football in recent matches, which has seen them score a lot of goals.

On the other hand, Brighton & Hove Albion are not having the best of times in the Premier League. But they have won the FA Cup before and their team is battle-hardened with a lot of experience. Manager Graham Potter’s background in tactical football will surely come in handy against an in-form Boro.

Verdict

It promises to be an even contest on the 7th of January. But a few factors should give the edge to Middlesbrough.

• Home advantage: Middlesbrough will have the home ground advantage, as well as the home crowd on their side.
• Style of play: This is going to be a match between Jonathan Woodgate’s attacking brand of football and Graham Potter’s tactical approach. Woodgate’s style should prevail in this game.
• Experience: Brighton are a more experienced team, but Middlesbrough have been on a roll lately and are capable of pulling off an upset.

Overall, it looks like Middlesbrough will be the ones to advance to the Third Round of the FA Cup. The Boro are in-form, have home advantage and are more suited to Woodgate’s attacking style. It remains to be seen if the Seagulls can pull off an upset, but the odds are in favour of The Boro.