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CHARLTON v BORO TEAM NEWS
Boro centre-back and stand-in captain on Saturday Chris Riggott is out of tonight's FA Cup qusrter-final after failing to recover from a calf strain.
Riggott will be badly missed because the idea of resting players in the League match at The Valley and agaisnt Blackburn on Saturday was to allow Boro to field a full-strength side in the cups. On both recent occasions where Steve McClaren has made multiple changes, it has been the defence that has been our weak point and arguably the reason we were defeated in both matches.
Riggott's absence means that either Ugo Ehiogu, Emanuel Pogatetz and Franck Queudrue will operate at centre-back alongside skipper Gareth Southgate with either Pogatetz or Queudrue as wing-back, should Boro start with a 5-3-2 formation.
McClaren's has a problem at right-back with Andrew Davies cup-tied and Stuart Parnaby ill-prepared for a return to the action. Parnaby has been back in training for only two days since recovering from a hamstring injury but with Tony McMahon injured again the options in that position are limited.
Charlton will be close to full strength for what Alan Curbishley's assistant Keith Peacock has called the biggest game at The Valley since Charlton returned to the Premiership.
Only Marcus Bent is unavailable for the home side as he is cup-tied after playing in the competition for Everton earlier this season. Both Danny Murphy and Alexei Smertin have now left the club, having joined Spurs and Dynamo Moscow respectively.
Defender Gonzalo Sorondo returns to the squad for the first time since Boxing Day after recovering from a broken foot. Sorondo has played just sxity-four minutes of football this season. Darren Ambrose is likely to come into contention for a starting birth in midfield although Jason Euell may be preferred.
Charlton Squad: Myhre, Young, Powell, Hreidarsson, Perry, Spector, Rommedahl, Euell, Hughes, Bartlett, Kishishev, Thomas, Holland, D Bent, Andersen, Sorondo, Ambrose, Fortune
Middlesbrough Squad: Schwarzer, Jones, Southgate, Pogatetz, Queudrue, Ehiogu, Parnaby, Bates, Boateng, Doriva, Downing, Mendieta, Cattermole, Parlour, Rochemback, Morrison, Johnson, Kennedy, Yakubu, Hasselbaink, Viduka, Maccarone
Addicks' assistant manager Keith Peacock told the press. "This is the biggest game we have staged at The Valley since Charlton returned to the Premiership. We've not had the best of luck in the cup in recent years but this is a tremendous opportunity for us to reach the semi-finals and take our fans closer to the Millennium Stadium."
"We're looking forward to it and, while we've got the greatest of respect for Middlesbrough, we will be doing everything we can to win the game. Even though it's on television we hope that the fans will set their video recorders and turn out in their droves, because there is nothing like being there on a big cup night."
Steve McClaren told BBC Radio Cleveland that clubs facing fixture congestion should stop complaining. "You have to play the matches so we just have to cope with it. I've heard a lot of people moaning about the amount of games. Liverpool and ourselves have played more games out of anyone in the Premiership."
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