Middlesbrough will once again travel to familiar ground in the FA Cup on Friday night as they face English giants Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Boro have faced the Red Devils many times in the Premier League down the years but they've also not been averse to squaring off in England's oldest cup competition.

Since 1999, the two sides have played each other five times in the FA Cup and over 9,000 Middlesbrough fans will descend on Manchester for what could be a very interesting tie.

The last time the two sides met in a cup clash though was in the EFL Cup in 2015 and it was where one player ended up becoming a cult hero amongst Teessiders.

Having played out a goalless draw after normal time, Boro were successful in the resulting penalty shootout with goalkeeper Tomas Mejias saving spot-kicks from Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young.

The Spaniard was sparingly used at the Riverside following his arrival in 2014, featuring just 17 times in a four-year period before departing in 2018 and he now keeps goal for Australian side Western Sydney Wanderers.

But the night at Old Trafford over six years ago put him in the Boro history books and he's sent a message to the club ahead of their upcoming encounter with Ralf Rangnick's side

The Verdict

Boro face a tough encounter this evening but it's not beyond the realms of possibility that they could get a result.

There are no more replays in the FA Cup which means that Chris Wilder's side could take it to a penalty shootout and be successful again - much like in 2015.

But Rangnick you'd imagine will not rest his stars and there's rumours that Paul Pogba could be making his return from injury, which could strike fear into the opposition.

How they could wish to bring Mejias back for one night only though if it did go all the way to a shootout...