Fulham versus Middlesbrough may well be a Premier League fixture next season, and Marco Silva is fully anticipating a proper battle in the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday.
Despite losing their head coach in November, Boro have kept their form going, and currently sit second in the Championship ahead of our meeting at the Cottage.
When asked what he makes of the Teessiders, Silva replied: “Very competitive, first of all. They are not in that position and fighting for the first two sports in the Championship by luck or coincidence.
“They are there because they have been very consistent in terms of performance, even with the change in the manager position, they kept the same type of results and consistency in that league that is so tough.
“Very experienced, good mi
x of experienced players. You see the backline, they have some Premier League experience there, they have some good midfielders.
“They come with full motivation, they had all week to prepare the game and to prepare for ourselves. After they are going to play [next] in one week, too.
“And, of course, it’s a chance for them to show against a Premier League side – in a competition that is very important for us, but for sure is important for them – that they are capable.
“They can, for sure, create a lot of problems for us, I don't have doubts about it. We just have to be in our best level to be there and to play the next round of the competition, like we want.
“Massive respect for them, like all teams – the preparation, everything, is the same that we did for Chelsea or for Liverpool, it's not going to be different. It's very short [turnaround], but we are going to be ready.”