Chelsea drawn against Spurs-vanquishing Middlesbrough in FA Cup quarterfinals

Chelsea are in to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup for the sixth time in the last seven seasons after last night’s dramatic 3-2 win over Luton Town (and not just because of what was happening on the football pitch), and our reward will be a trip to the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough in two weeks.

It’s certainly not a bad draw, having managed to avoid both Manchester City (away to Southampton) and Liverpool (away to Nottingham Forest or Huddersfield Town). The fourth quarterfinal will be between Crystal Palace and the winners of Everton vs. Boreham Wood (so probably Everton). Boro did beat Spurs earlier this week as well as Manchester United in the previous round to advance this far, amusingly enough.

We last met Middlesbrough in 2017, during their brief return to the Premier League, but matchups between us were common throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s, including in the 1997 FA Cup final, which we won, 2-0. We’ve also won the last eight in a row against them, including a fifth round matchup in the 2013 FA Cup.

Chris Wilder’s side are currently two points and two spots below Luton Town in the Championship.