Middlesbrough would entertain West Bromwich Albion at the Riverside Stadium as they hope to continue their recent winning run in the league. The Boro has emerged victorious in each of their past three encounters in the Championship while keeping a clean sheet on each occasion.
However, Tony Pulis’ men would come up against a dominant West Brom team who scored goals for fun last weekend. The Baggies put seven goals past Queens Park Rangers in their previous league outing which should strike fear in the eyes of the Middlesbrough defenders.
This match has the makings of highly entertaining contest with both teams going all out for the victory. Pulis is likely to stick with his favoured 4-3-3 and might keep changes to a minimum, if any at all. The Boro boss does not have any fresh injuries to deal with ahead of this match on Friday.
4-3-3 Middlesbrough Predicted Lineup To Face West Bromwich Albion
Defence
Darren Randolph will get the nod to start ahead of Dimitrios Konstantopoulos on Friday night. The Republic of Ireland shot-stopper has managed to keep three clean sheets in a row in the league against Sheffield United, Birmingham City, and Bristol City respectively so he would be desperate to keep this run going.
The duo of Dael Fry and Aden Flint should continue as the first-choice centre-halves under Tony Pulis. George Friend could start as the left-back while Ryan Shotton plies his trade on the right side of the Boro backline.
Pulis’ back five have been in outstanding form over the past few games, so they are expected to put in another excellent defensive display at the Riverside Stadium this week.
Midfield
The Boro midfield will be comprised of Adam Clayton, sitting as the holding midfielder while Lewis Wing and Jonny Howson would look to show some creativity at the centre of the park. The trio has already displayed their worth in recent weeks and has become quite an integral part of Pulis’ team. Hence, they need to perform consistently if the North Yorkshire side are to mount an automatic promotion challenge this season.
Attack
Pulis’ front three needs to click if the home team are to come away with a victory on Friday. The terrific trio of Stewart Downing, Martin Braithwaite, and Britt Assombalonga will look to cause some damage to the West Brom defence. Both Braithwaite and Assombalonga found themselves on the scoresheet last weekend and would hope to continue their goal-scoring run against Darren Moore’s team.
