Hello everyone! It's all about the FA Cup this weekend, and there's already been a change in the script after League Two Cambridge United forced a replay with Manchester United last night by holding Louis van Gaal's side to a goalless draw at Abbey Stadium. Here, we'll be focusing on United's rivals Manchester City as they take on in-form Championship side Middlesbrough.

Both sides reside second in their respective leagues, with Man City five points adrift of leaders Chelsea in the top flight, while Boro sit just one point behind Bournemouth in the Championship. Before we delve into the match at hand, let's bring you the home team that has just been confirmed at the Etihad...

MAN CITY XI: Caballero; Zabaleta, Kompany, Boyata, Kolarov; Milner, Fernando; Navas, Silva, Jovetic; Aguero

MAN CITY SUBS: Hart, Demichelis, Sagna, Clichy, Dzeko, Lampard, Fernandinho

Manuel Pellegrini has made four changes to his side that suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal. As expected, Willy Caballero has replaced number one Joe Hart in between the sticks, while Martin Demichelis and Gael Clichy have dropped to the bench in place of Dedryck Boyata and Aleksander Kolarov.

In midfield, Fernandinho has been left out, but Fernando remains alongside James Milner and Jesus Navas, while Sergio Aguero leads the line with Stevan Jovetic and David Silva providing support.

It's a strong team from Pellegrini, and the good news for City is that Frank Lampard is on the bench, despite fears that he could miss the game after picking up a knock in his side's midweek friendly against Hamburg in Abu Dhabi. Now for the visitors...

MIDDLESBROUGH XI: Mejias; Friend, Ayala, Gibson, Whitehead; Adomah, Leadbitter; Clayton, Tomlin, Bamford; Vossen

MIDDLESBROUGH SUBS: Ripley, Husband, Omeruo, Kike, Woodgate, Reach, Wildschut

Aitor Karanka has also made four changes to the side that beat Cardiff City 2-1 last weekend. Tomas Medias starts in goal, while Tomas Kalas, who is on loan from Chelsea, has not been included in the trip to Manchester. Dean Whitehead comes into the team, while Adam Reach has dropped out in place of Albert Adomah.

The final change is up front as Jelle Vossen enters the fold, replacing Kike, who has been given a spot on the bench. Adam Clayton, Lee Tomlin and Patrick Bamford all keep their places in the side for this afternoon's encounter.

Right, before this game gets underway, let's consider the current form of the hosts. The Etihad has struggled to be a fortress for City this season as they have already been beaten four times on home turf, the latest of which was against Premier League rivals Arsenal. After their disappointing defeat, Pellegrini and his side flew out to Abu Dhabi and only just returned to the UK last night. Good or bad idea...? Middlesbrough will be hoping it's the latter!

As we can see from the team that Pellegrini has selected, the FA Cup is important on their list of priorities. Arguably, it is their biggest chance of gaining silverware this season as they'll be eight points behind league leaders Chelsea if they lose to Jose Mourinho's side next week, and they have a tough last-16 clash against Barcelona in the Champions League.

However, they have struggled against Championship opposition before in this competition. Last season, they were knocked out by Wigan Athletic at the quarter-final stage, and they struggled to get over the line in their third-round clash against Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month. It took a 90-minute goal from James Milner to secure a 2-1 triumph and place in the fourth round.

Let's not forget though, that City do have a certain Sergio Aguero, who is capable of producing magic when it's needed. Here's the Argentine arriving at the Etihad earlier today...

A photo posted by Manchester City FC (@mcfcofficial)

on Jan 24, 2015 at 5:51am PST

What about Middlesbrough? Well, City are certainly not facing any slouches this afternoon. Aitor Karanka's side have not suffered defeat in six games in all competitions, and they've only lost once in their last 15. The players had a look around the Etihad upon arrival this morning, but I'm sure they won't be daunted by the experience.

Boro are heading into today's match off the back of a 2-1 win over former Premier League side Cardiff City, and goalscorers Bamford and Tomlin will feature at the Etihad this afternoon. The Championship outfit may not boast the attacking talent found within City's ranks, but they have the best defensive record in the second tier of English football.

In their last six games, Boro have conceded just one goal, and that was last weekend to Cardiff. Unfortunately for the visitors, Kalas is not fit enough to feature, and despite their strong form at the back, they face a different test today trying to stop the likes of Aguero, Jovetic and Silva.

To get themselves in this position, Middlesbrough defeated Barnsley in the third round, which marked their first FA Cup triumph on away turf since 2009. They'll be boosted by that stat before they head out onto the Etihad pitch, which as mentioned earlier, has witnessed a few defeats for City already this season.

Middlesbrough have already shown that they can hold their own against Premier League opposition following their Capital One Cup match against Liverpool. They ended up on the losing side that day, but they did push the Merseyside team to a lengthy penalty shootout. Given all the facts, we could have an exciting game on our hands!

PREDICTION: With just over five minutes to go until the game gets underway, it's time to predict the outcome. Despite City's recent defeat at home, I believe that they're attacking threat will prove to be the difference. Middlesbrough's strong defensive record could frustrate the hosts, but by the end of the 90 minutes, I expect Pellegrini's side to come out on top. For me, I'm going for a 2-0 win for the hosts.

KICKOFF! City in sky blue get us underway at the Etihad against Boro, who are in red and white.

The visitors have started confidently and show no signs of sitting back against the Premier League champions.

However, City get their first sight of goal when Kolarov delivers a perfect cross into the box from the left-hand side. The ball drives across goal, needing someone to just tap it in, but Jovetic cannot stretch far enough to knock it into the back of the net. A missed opportunity to nod themselves in front.

Tomlin snatches the ball from City's possession in midfield and tries to threat the ball through to Vossen, but Caballero came off his line in time to collect.

CHANCE! At the other end, City get joy down the flanks again as Navas whips the ball into the area from the right, but Mejias drops to ground in time to gather.

Jovetic battles with Clayton in the box and the Middlesbrough man makes a tackle, which sends his opponent to the ground, but the referee waves away claims of a penalty.

Some nice skill from Aguero as he drives past three players towards the centre of the 18-yard box, but Gibson manages to cut out his run and clear the danger. The hosts have had the better attacking chances so far, but Boro seem comfortable letting City have the majority of possession at the moment.

Some more attacking threat from City as Silva sends the ball over the top searching for Jovetic, but the goalkeeper gets their first by jumping high and clutching the ball in his hands.

The likes of Adomah and Bamford are having to drop back so deep to help defensively that when they have possession, there's nobody up top to pass to and start an attack.

Silva gets fouled, but the referee plays advantage and Jovetic snatches the ball, but instead of using his wide options, he decides to go for goal and it's a poor effort as it flies wide.

GOAL RULED OUT! Middlesbrough get the ball in the back of the net but it won't count, and rightly so, as Bamford was in an offside position when he received the ball from Vossen. However, Caballero completely fluffed his clearance and Tomlin was there to header the ball in. A let-off for the home side, who have dominated the game so far.

City continue to press as Silva tries a neat cut-back for Zabaleta, but Boro's defence do their job well to clear the danger. The visitors are under the cosh at the moment, but they're getting bodies back to defend well. You have to question how long they can keep City out, though.

Silva tries to go for glory by latching onto a loose ball, but Ayala times his run well to block the Spaniard's thumping shot, which flies over the crossbar.

City are on the attack again as Aguero tries to deceive his marker by pretending to cut inside, but he moves towards the edge of the 18-yard box to deliver a shot to the bottom corner, but it goes just wide.

At the other end, Vossen goes for a overhead kick, but Kompany gets in the way to knock the ball out for a corner kick. The ball is delivered in to find Ayala in plenty of space, but his header slams into blue shirts holding their line.

SAVE! Mejias denies Jovetic from opening the scoring with a 25-yard shot, but it's not the most convincing of saves as he palms it back into play, instead of keeping hold of it. Fortunately for the goalkeeper, his teammates were there to clear. City continue to pile on the pressure though, and it seems like a matter of time before that make one of their chances count.

CHANCE! Dear oh dear, Boyata should have done much better. Milner crosses the ball into the box following a short corner and finds the defender, who swings his foot at it from six yards out, and as his first effort rebounds back to him, his second chance goes flying over the crossbar.

SAVE! Mejias is forced into action again, and this time it's from a long-range effort of Milner. The England international drives the ball goal-bound, but the Boro keeper knocks it behind for a corner, which comes to nothing.

Middlesbrough could do with a bit of a breather! City have had 70% of the possession and all the attacking threat. The visitors get a rare chance to test City as Tomlin plays the ball out wide to Adomah, who sends a low cross into the box, but nobody is there to latch onto it and Zabaleta makes a simple clearance.

Mejias is needed once more as Silva drills the ball from outside of the box towards goal. It takes a slight deflection, but the goalkeeper reacted quickly to knock the ball out for a corner, which City fail to make the most of.

Some clever passing from Boro sees Adomah move out wide to cross the ball towards Bamford, who sends it to Tomlin and the midfielder goes for glory, but his shot goes wide.

SAVE! Another stop from Mejias prevents City from taking the lead. It's all very hectic in the box as Boro shirts fill the 18-yard box, but the ball eventually falls to Jovetic, whose free from his marker. He sets up a shot, but it's palmed away by the keeper.

A nice little cut-back from Adomah in the penalty area finds Vossen, but he gets muscled out by Kompany and the attack comes to nothing.

PENALTY APPEAL! The City players and fans are calling for Phil Dowd to award a penalty after Ayala handled the ball in the area. A lovely flick from Aguero found Kolarov, but the Middlesbrough defender touches the ball with his right hand before the City man can get to it. He's got away with that one.

At the other end, Adomah delivers a short pass to Tomlin, who drives past two players to get into the penalty area. He goes for a right-footed shot, but it's cut out by Fernando, who gives away a corner, which comes to nothing for the visitors.

Middlesbrough get some respite as the referee blows for the half-time interval. As expected, City have been on the frontfoot for the majority of the game so far, but the visitors have done well to keep them out. They don't have the best defensive record in the Championship for nothing!

City have had plenty of joy down the flanks and created numerous openings over the course of the first half. If it wasn't for Boro goalkeeper Tomas Mejias, the home side could be two or three up. Despite their attacking flare from width, City have struggled to pick anyone out and Boro were actually the ones to score first! However, it was rightfully ruled out for offside.

While City look dangerous moving forward, the frustration could begin to show if the game continues in this manner. It takes just one move to change everything, and Middlesbrough will be hoping that they receive some more joy on the counter in this second half.

Elsewhere in the FA Cup, the half-time scores are as follows:

Birmingham 1-2 West Brom
Cardiff 1-0 Reading
Chelsea 2-1 Bradford
Derby 1-0 Chesterfield
Preston 1-0 Sheffield United
Southampton 2-3 Crystal Palace
Sunderland 0-0 Fulham
Tottenham 1-0 Leicester

RESTART! Middlesbrough gets us underway in the second half. Fingers crossed for goals!

Boro get an early free kick from just above the centre circle. Leadbitter delivers it into the box, but Caballero is able to jump and collect the ball with ease before any red and white shirts could latch onto it.

BOOKING! Ayala, who was lucky to get away with a handball in the first half, is the first to be cautioned after bringing Aguero to ground.

SAVE! Kolarov goes for a direct shot at goal, but it bounces out for a corner. The ball is delivered into the box towards Jovetic, but his effort is pushed away, once again by Mejias.

BOOKING! The referee issues Kompany with a yellow after he brought down Vossen. The Belgian protests, but he was on the wrong side of the forward.

Amazing scenes at the Etihad as Middlesbrough take the lead! What a moment for Patrick Bamford! The visitors take their chance when Fernando's poor back pass fails to find Caballero. The goalkeeper comes off his line, but the ball flies behind him and trickles towards goal. It just needs Bamford to tap it in to give the visitors a crucial lead.

CHANCE! Boro's tails are certainly up as they search for a second goal. Caballero looks less than commanding in his box at the moment as he gives the ball away to Tomlin. Leadbitter delivers a thunderous shot at goal, but Kolarov and Fernando combine to block the effort.

Prior to that, City appealed for a penalty after Clayton grappled with Aguero in the box. The Middlesbrough man appeared to pull back the Argentine, but the referee waves away their claims.

What a cup tie this has turned into! City continue to pile on the pressure, but Boro look a lot more threatening when they get the ball down the other end, especially with Caballero looking a bit nervy between the sticks.

CHANCE! What an opportunity for Boro to extend their lead. Tomlin picks out Adomah with a long ball. Caballero comes off his line and Adomah attempts to lob it over the goalkeeper, but his effort is poor and the City man grabs the ball with ease.

OFF THE POST! How has Tomlin not scored?! City are opened up yet again as Adomah plays the ball across to Tomlin, who does a lovely turn to give him space for the shot. His effort goes past Caballero, but it smashes off the post. What an opportunity for the visitors.

SUBSTITUTIONS: City try to turn things around with a double change. Frank Lampard comes on to replace Jesus Navas, while Stevan Jovetic makes way for Fernandinho.

Fernandinho goes for a cross-field pass to Silva. Some one-touch play with Kolarov results in the Serbian delivering a low cross into the box, but the Boro defence clear.

The hosts are continuing to launch attacks, but Boro are doing well to maintain their lead. City have 20 minutes left to get back into this game.

BOOKINGS! It's a frustrating late challenge from Fernandinho on Leadbitter that sees the City man go into the book. Shortly afterwards, Whitehead is also issued with a yellow card.

A through ball from Fernandinho finds Silva, who turns and plays Aguero in, but the Argentine struggles to find his footing and the chance bobbles away from him.

SAVE! Adomah's still full of energy as he surges down the left-hand side and delivers a cross to Vossen. The Boro forward goes for the volley, but Caballero manages to get in the way and prevent City from going two goals down.

City are patiently building up their attack, but they're struggling to find a way through as Boro pack bodies into the box. It's been a great team performance from the visitors, who have had plenty of discipline when required.

SUBSTITUTION: City make their final change as Edin Dzeko comes on for Fernando.

Dzeko knocks the ball over the top to find Aguero, but Ayala follows his opponent and puts enough pressure on him to muscle the ball from his feet and prevent a shot.

SUBSTITUTION: Boro make their first change as Lee Tomlin comes off to a round of applesauce from the travelling support and Adam Reach makes his way onto the pitch.

Once again, City put some intricate passes together, and Aguero finds space for himself to get a shot at goal, but Ayala makes himself big and the City striker's effort ends up being off target.

Middlesbrough are seven minutes away from knocking Manchester City out of the FA Cup. Can the hosts find a late equaliser? Will Lampard be the hero again? The Premier League champions continue to press, but it's not happening for them at the moment.

Bamford does well to knick the ball off Milner and drive forward. He passes the ball out wide to Vossen, but Boyata gets across to clear the danger.

SUBSTITUTION: Middlesbrough make a change as Kike comes on for Jelle Vossen.

City have all the ball, but they're being far too patient in their approach. They're not going to get through the Boro defence this way.

OFF THE POST! How did that stay out? It would have been harsh on Boro if it had gone in, but Lampard came close to clinching the equaliser with a swerving ball towards goal. It was deflected off Clayton, but smashed off the post and out.

The fourth official indicates that there will be four minutes of added time. However, that could be extended as Ayala seeks treatment following a clash with Dzeko.

It's two corners in quick succession for City, but once again, Middlesbrough's excellent defence do their job to make sure that they're first to the ball.

There's no way back for City as Middlesbrough take a 2-0 lead in injury time! The visitors ease their way through City's defence. Bamford gets brought down, but he manages to knock the ball along to Kike as he falls and the forward smashes it into the back of the net.

Wow. Manchester City have crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Middlesbrough, who march onto the fifth round following a brilliant performance at the Etihad. Patrick Bamford opened the scoring and Kike destroyed City's hopes of forcing a replay by netting the winner in injury time. In fairness, it would have been harsh on Middlesbrough to leave with anything less than a triumph.

It's not just here at the Etihad where upsets have been caused. Chelsea's hopes of a quadruple have come to an end after they were beaten 4-2 by Bradford, while Tottenham Hotspur have also been sent packing following a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City. The magic of the FA Cup ey?! That's all from me, but make sure you stick around on Sports Mole for all the match reports and reaction. Thanks for joining me, and until next time, goodbye.