Middlesbrough will host Swansea City at Riverside Stadium as they look to chase down Leeds United who sit at the top of the Championship table. Swansea might be 10th on the table right now, but one can expect the Swans to be in with a good chance for a playoff spot as the season progresses. The Teessiders are coming on the back of a 2-0 win against Bolton Wanderers.
Pulis would hope that his defence can keep Oliver McBurnie quiet for the 90 minutes as he possesses immense threat when he gets the ball in and around the penalty box. A good win would keep them almost toe to toe with league leaders Leeds United who have a slender one-point lead.
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Rudy Gestede, who suffered an injury in February is close to returning as he started for the u-23 side. We expect him to feature on the bench for the first time since his injury. Pulis doesn’t have any significant injury issues in the squad.
Middlesbrough’s Predicted Lineup vs Swansea City
Formation (3-4-3)
Defence
Darren Randolph is the preferred first-choice goalkeeper and will start in between the sticks. Pulis is expected to go with a back three, but the two wide men from midfield would often drop deep when Boro doesn’t have the possession so off the ball, they could effectively be playing with five at the back.
Aden Flint, Daniel Ayala and Dael Fry would form the back three. They would be dominant in the air and strong in their challenges. One also cannot count out one of them scoring from a set piece at the other end.
Midfield
George Friend and Ryan Shotton will have to work extremely hard in the wide regions throughout the game as they will be dropping back and going forward according to the situation. Everton loanee Muhamed Besic should partner Adam Clayton in the middle of the park. Both of them would be expected to keep things tight and moving in the central areas of the pitch.
Forward
Martin Braithwaite would start down the right, and we expect his pace and directness to cause a lot of problem to the Swans’ defence. Experienced Stewart Downing would start on the left flank and would be whipping in dangerous crosses when presented with an opportunity. He will also continuously come inside to the more central areas allowing the wingback to overlap.
Rudy Gestede is back, but we expect Pulis to push him into the first team slowly, so he is likely to start on the bench. Britt Assombalonga will lead the line against Graham Potter’s men.
