After a very poor display vs Leeds United, this past Sunday, Middlesbrough knew they had to bounce back when they took on relegation-battling Birmingham City on Wednesday. That is exactly what they did. Boro controlled the game for the most part and their solid display earned them a 2-0 victory keeping them in 6th place.
Middlesbrough face a much tougher test this weekend though as they take on 7th place Derby County. Boro have struggled somewhat this season when facing tougher opposition. So, a win against Derby is necessary if they want to prove they are true promotion contenders this season.
Here is how they might line up.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
This is clearly Garry Monk’s favoured formation this season. And after comfortably seeing off Birmingham on Wednesday using the 4-2-3-1, Boro will likely opt for it again this weekend.
GK: Darren Randolph
Randolph was once again excellent vs Birmingham. He made several good saves, one of which was a header from close range as he proved himself to be one of the best keepers in the Championship this season. He has impressed with eight clean sheets in the league this season so far.
RB: Cyrus Christie
Christie was greatly missed when Boro took on Leeds. However, he returned to the starting XI vs Birmingham and showed just how important he is to Boro. He will start vs Derby unless he is injured in the meantime.
RCB: Daniel Ayala
Ayala and Gibson are continuing to form a solid partnership this season, which was shown once again on Wednesday as they kept a clean sheet. This partnership should continue vs Derby as well if Monk wants to keep earning clean sheets.
LCB: Ben Gibson
Gibson has started every league game for Boro this season. He put in a solid display in their last game and is almost certain to start on Saturday.
LB: Fabio
As with Christie, it was clear Middlesbrough greatly missed Fabio at fullback when they took on Leeds. George Friend is simply not good enough anymore. This saw Fabio replace him when Boro took on Birmingham.
The change in quality was really obvious. Fabio had an excellent game on Wednesday, which was capped off with the right back getting the assist for Britt Assombalonga’s second goal of the night. He will start on Saturday.
CDM: Adam Clayton
Jonny Howson has been the perfect central midfielder from Boro this season. However, he picked up his 5th yellow of the season on Wednesday meaning he is suspended vs Derby.
This surely means Adam Clayton will return to the side as he is considered to be perhaps Boro’s best CDM by many fans.
CDM: Grant Leadbitter
With Clayton looking set to return tomorrow it is very like Monk will partner with up with Leadbitter. The pair have served Boro well in the past and Middlesbrough will be hoping for much of the same this weekend.
RM: Stewart Downing
Downing had another good display vs Birmingham, which saw him taken off to chants of ‘he’s one of our own’. This is a far cry from what Boro fans thought of Downing a couple of months ago, which just shows how much he has improved in recent weeks.
CAM: Martin Braithwaite
Braithwaite continues to impress for Boro playing behind Britt. He looks a real danger every time he is on the ball and should cause Derby some problems this Saturday.
Braithwaite is without a goal in three games though, something he will hopefully change this weekend.
LM: Marvin Johnson
Marcus Tavernier has played on the left for Boro in recent weeks after being called up from the U23’s due to several good displays in the league. However, he was not even in the squad on Wednesday, which would suggest he has now returned to the U23’s.
So, it looks like Johnson is set to be Boro’s left mid for now and he will likely start vs Derby.
ST: Britt Assombalonga
Assombalonga scored another brace for Boro vs Birmingham as he proved he is a quality goalscorer, something Boro have lacked for a while. Given that Britt has already scored 11 goals in 18 games, it’s hard to see Boro not pushing for promotion if he keeps up his excellent form. He will start vs Derby.
