Middlesbrough have been a mixed bag this season. Pretty much sums up their journey till now. After gaining promotion to the Premier League after a long wait of 7 years, there was a real buzz around the club with the former Real Madrid assistant coach, Aitor Karanka, spearheading a mass recruitment drive throughout the summer, as they prepared to tackle the diverse challenges the Premier League was about to throw at them. He had the backing of the board and he went full throttle. The signings were looking good and there was a very plausible chance of a relatively respectable mid-table finish if the new personnel gelled with the team.
And this is where the manager would be a perplexed man. The team has looked solid and also shown enough stomach for a fight. They haven’t looked all over the place too many times and have largely been a force to reckon with when playing against. But their points haul of 21 after 24 games show that they are nowhere as close to safety as their displays might have guaranteed. There has been an issue of too much focus on being solid and hard to score against and that has led to their attack getting blunt.
But he has made a number of additions again and will hope that they will be sufficient when it comes to ensuring safety in the latter part of the season.
PREDICTED MIDDLESBROUGH XI WITH THEIR NEW SIGNINGS (4-3-3)
DEFENCE
Victor Valdes will be their first choice keeper for the season and will be replaced in the event of an injury or a drastic loss of form. Antonio Barragan is the preferred right-back and will look to improve on his displays even more. Calum Chambers has established himself in the first team and will be partnered with Ben Gibson in central defence. Friend, once back from injury will be the left-back.
MIDFIELD
The three midfielders have been impressive in the roles assigned to them but there is a feeling that Guedioura might be drafted in to freshen things up a bit. Clayton can be used in the holding role with De Roon and Guedioura on either side of him in slightly advanced positions.
ATTACK
He has a handful of players at his disposal in the final third and he has added to his options to keep the pressure on the likes of Negredo, Traore and Stuani but he will not shy away from taking a punt of two at times. Patrick Bamford can be used on the wings and he might line-up on the left side. Traore has to develop his game further but he is a real handful on the right-wing while Negredo and Gestede are two extremely potent options up top. While Negredo is likely to keep his place, Gestede will get his opportunities.
