Blackburn slip Ryan Nyambe in down the right and he gallops after the ball but the cross is cut out by Duncan Watmore, back covering.

First corner goes behind again, the second runs aground as Joe Rothwell loses it and then clips Djed Spence as Boro counter.

Lively opening few minutes.

Adam Armstrong gets a tester away from the left side of the Boro box, after Barry Douglas creeps in behind and holds it up for the Blackburn forward.

It whistles wide of Marcus Bettinelli's far-post.

First time either side has been anywhere near goal.

Boro take a quick free-kick in their own half and slip the ball forward to Marcus Tavernier who takes on his man.

Barry Douglas bundles him down. Free-kick.

Paddy McNair and Marcus Tavernier stand over it on the apex of the box, right side.

McNair tosses it in but the foul by Jonny Howson brings it to an abrupt end.

Early pressure for Blackburn on the Boro box, but the home side smuggle the ball clear.

Marc Bola tears down the left and sweeps a pass in-field but it's out of play for a throw.

Lewis Travis gets back to avoid a corner being conceded, Boro press.

Dean Whitestone is the man in the middle this afternoon and he shrills his whistle to get us going.

Almost every player to a man in the Boro side wears a baselayer today, Blackburn's rock-hard skipper Darragh Lenihan doesn't need any of that nonsense though. Quite a few of his team-mates followed suit.

Teams are out and finishing off their final preparations.

BBC local radio

There are a few challenges for local radio commentary teams within the BBC at the moment in terms of travelling to games, but that hasn't stopped the coverage across the network.

We can't bring online commentary to you because of rights restrictions, but you can listen in if you're in the BBC Tees or BBC Radio Lancashire area.

Image source, Getty Images

Apologies to anyone born after 1990 but I have to indulge myself in a bit of nostalgia here, as any mention of Middlesbrough and Blackburn in the same breath prompts recall of the dashing winger Stuart Ripley.

Boro-born Ripley had a shock of blonde hair and a tantalising ability to dance past a full-back and swing in crosses.

Having helped Boro into the top flight and a first Wembley final, the wideman was on his way to Ewood Park as part of Kenny Dalglish's revitalised Rovers squad.

He and Jason Wilcox would provide the ammunition for Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton to fire Blackburn to an unlikely Premier League title.

After spells at Southampton, Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday, he retired. His son Connor - a goalkeeper - has also been at both clubs too.

Image source, Getty Images

Thirty years ago I went to my first and only FA Cup final.

I only got to go because my cousin had stupidly booked his wedding day for the same date, and as such I was the lucky recipient of his golden ticket.

Anyway, we lost the game as Des Walker put through his own net, and to cap it off, my cousin ended up getting divorced a few years after.

With that bright and cheery tale in mind, you can follow today's FA Cup excitement here.

Image source, BBC Sport

Boro begin this game three points behind Bournemouth in sixth, while Rovers - albeit also with a game in hand on clubs above them - are nine points behind.

It's an important period of the season as we edge closer to spring-time and the post-season play-off knock-out phase.

Image source, Getty Images

Both sides make a change apiece to the starting line-up for this encounter.

Middlesbrough switch Anfernee Dijksteel for Djed Spence at right-back, while Blackburn bring in Jacob Davenport for Bradley Dack in midfield.

Dijksteel does not feature on the bench, but Ashley Fletcher does after a hamstring injury, his first appearance in any squad since September.

Middlesbrough: Bettinelli, Spence, Fry, McNair, Bola, Howson, Morsy, Saville, Tavernier, Assombalonga, Watmore

Subs: Archer, Wing, Coulson, Wood, Hackney, Johnson, Roberts, Fletcher, Akpom

Blackburn: Kaminski, Nyambe, Lenihan, Branthwaite, Douglas, Johnson, Travis, Davenport, Rothwell, Elliott, Armstrong

Subs: Pears, Bell, Downing, Trybull, Buckley, Dack, Brereton, Dolan, Gallagher

Image source, Getty Images

While Boro fans will forever retain a soft spot for the aforementioned 'Mogga', their current gaffer Neil Warnock has gone a long way to write himself in Teesside folklore too.

It's only half a year since he was brought in to guide the club away from relegation. Since then the outlook has been up, up and up. They're seventh in the league and Warnock contemplating a ninth top-tier promotion.

The wily veteran is getting the best out of talent such as Marcus Tavernier and Djed Spence, while Paddy McNair and Jonny Howson are among the most consistent in the league.

Unlike Rovers, they don't have an out and out goalscorer, with the burden shared across the team. Mind you, Duncan Watmore has scored five in 10 since his move to the Riverside.

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Of course, Mowbray's focus these days is on events at Ewood Park.

Blackburn's form seemed to dip the minute the decorations went up in December, having fired themselves into a decent position with a strong November.

Adam Armstrong's goals were a key factor in that with 15 in his opening 16 matches in all competitions, but the former Newcastle man has been on a more barren run of late.

Two goals in his last seven games have coincided with similarly disappointing form for his team - two wins in nine.

There are still things to be positive about though. In Joe Rothwell, Harvey Elliott and Tyrhys Dolan they have three excellent young talents, and in Bradley Dack a classy figure returning to fitness after a lengthy lay-off.

Image source, Getty Images

If there is one man who is synonymous with red shirt of Middlesbrough, then it's Tony Mowbray.

Redcar-born, seemingly hewn from the iron ore which was mined at nearby Eston, and granite tough. Proud, loyal, a leader. As former Boro boss Bruce Rioch once said: "If I had to fly to the moon I'd take Tony Mowbray, my captain, with me. He's a magnificent man."

'Fly me to the Moon' became the name of a popular Boro fanzine.

He was the hero of the Holgate End. 'Mogga' didn't just play for his boyhood club, captain his boyhood club, see his boyhood club come perilously close to liquidation and lead them back to the top flight... he even managed his boyhood club.

He probably never gets the credit his time managing Boro, which was a battle to balance the books.

That love for his old flame, will be balanced today by aims of boosting his current club's Blackburn promotion ambitions.

Image source, Getty Images

Thanks Owen.

Let's hope for better fare in our next offering. Some fare would be nice.

The second course of our Sunday lunch offering is what you might call a northern delicacy.

A parmo dipped in Lancashire hotpot, you might say.

Middlesbrough versus Blackburn is to come, and for one man the sight of the old Ayresome Park gates from the team bus this afternoon will always be intensely special...

Worry ye not. If ever there was a man capable of keeping you entertained even if the late Champo game is as dull as the early one it's Matt Newsum.

He's a man with magic in his fingers. No pressure.

I'd like to say something positive about that. But I'm struggling. Hopefully the afternoon fixture will bring us some goals and more in the way of entertainment.

There's a glimmer of a chance for Reading to snatch the win but Ovie Ejaria is crowded out and that's that for a pretty tepid afternoon at Deepdale.

Lucas Joao blew the chance to snatch all three points for the Royals with his missed penalty late on.

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An aimless ball into the box is gathered by Reading keeper Rafael Cabral who comes steaming out to the edge of his area to try to instigate an attack. But nothing comes from it.

There will be three minutes of injury-time played at Deepdale. At least the penalty drama livened things up briefly.