Middlesbrough's free February weekend after FA Cup exit thanks to ...

Middlesbrough’s trip to Stoke City in early February will have to be rearranged after Boro exited the FA Cup at the hands of Blackburn Rovers.

Boro lost 1-0 at the Riverside on Saturday, with Andi Weimann scoring the only goal of the game. It continued Michael Carrick’s disappointing run in the competition as a manager, with Boro exiting at the first time of asking in all three of his campaigns in charge - albeit losing to in-form Premier League sides Brighton and Aston Villa in the previous two seasons.

Boro were due to travel to Stoke City on Friday, February 7, in a game that was moved after being selected by Sky Sports for live broadcast. However, that’s the same weekend as the FA Cup fourth round and, with the Potters beating Sunderland 2-1 after extra time to advance in the competition, a new date will have to be scheduled for Boro’s league trip to the bet365 Stadium.

At the same time, it means Boro’s weekend will be free and they’ll have extra time to prepare for what could be a huge game away to Sheffield United a few days later. In what looked a challenging nine-day period, particularly after Mark Robins’ appointment at Stoke, Boro were due to host Sunderland on Monday, February 3 before then travelling to Stoke and Sheffield United on February 7 and 12 respectively.

However, Stoke’s FA Cup progression means that game will now be played at some point later in the season and Boro will have eight days in between the Sunderland and Sheffield United games to prepare - which given the significance of both, could prove a real blessing.

Exactly when the Stoke game will be rearranged to, and what it means for Sky’s planned live coverage - both for that weekend and the game - remains to be seen. An announcement on the new date for Stoke City will be made in due course.