Soccer

Manchester City vs. Middlesbrough 2017 live stream: Start time, TV schedule, and how to watch online

Manchester City need to keep winning if they’re going to stay in the top four.

Apr 30, 2017, 11:07 AM UTC

Middlesbrough v Manchester City - The Emirates FA Cup Quarter-Final

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Manchester City are teetering on the edge of falling out of the top four — but on Sunday they’re facing a team in Middlesbrough who are teetering on the edge of falling out of the Premier League entirely. Both teams are desperate for a win to keep their dreams in reach, though at this point Middlesbrough’s desperation is reaching a fever pitch.

After Sunderland were officially relegated from the Premier League on Saturday, Middlesbrough are now under the gun as they’re next on the chopping block. They have just 27 points and are seven huge points away from safety with just four games left on their schedule. That means they need near-perfection from here on out and a little bit of luck to stay in the EPL next season — and that’s going to be a huge task, even without facing a City side that needs to win games themselves if they’re going to finish in the top four this season.

Middlesbrough have just one player guaranteed to be out, goalkeeper Victor Valdes, but have an important trio facing fitness tests to determine their availability: David Ayala, Geoff Leadbitter, and Antonio Barragan. That’s one defensive starter and two key rotation members potentially missing or at least than full health against one of the best teams in the league, and that’s going to be tricky to deal with.

Of course, Manchester City are hardly in good shape themselves — Claudio Bravo and Ilkay Gundogan are out for the season, and both David Silva and John Stones face fitness tests themselves to see if they can play. City have the depth to overcome those two potential absences, though the loss of Bravo could prove tricky as backup goalkeeper Willy Caballero hasn’t exactly impressed this season himself.