Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Championship clash between Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Aiming to extend their goal-laden winning run to four matches, in-form Middlesbrough will welcome Blackburn Rovers to the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday night for a Championship battle.
Boro managed a six-goal smashing of newly-promoted Oxford United following the international break, whilst Rovers have been forced to wait for competitive action due to a fixture postponement on the weekend.
Match preview
Since the 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City at the beginning of November, Middlesbrough have enjoyed a marvellous three-game winning run in the Championship either side of the international break, most recently smashing second-tier newcomers Oxford at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Putting an early-season goal drought firmly behind him, Ivorian marksman Emmanuel Latte Lath bagged a sensational hat-trick for Boro against Des Buckingham‘s troops, who were the second side in succession to endure a battering from the Teesside club following Luton Town’s visit to the Riverside on November 9.
Collecting six points and scoring 11 goals across their last two second-tier fixtures, Middlesbrough have propelled themselves up to fifth place in the Championship standings ahead of Wednesday’s visit of Blackburn, sitting five points behind second-placed Sunderland at this stage.
Providing an eye-watering total of four goal contributions during the thrashing of Oxford last time out, Republic of Ireland international Finn Azaz has now delivered seven assists so far this season, allowing him to leapfrog West Bromwich Albion’s Tom Fellows at the summit of the Championship’s playmaking charts.
Despite their relative success in pushing for the playoffs over the past few years, Middlesbrough’s recent record against Blackburn is simply woeful, with the North-East side winless across the last 10 meetings in the Championship, last beating Rovers in February 2019 thanks to a solitary strike from Britt Assombalonga at Ewood Park.
© Imago
Blackburn’s schedule following November’s international break suffered a change of plans on Saturday morning, when the proposed Championship meeting with relegation-threatened Portsmouth was postponed due to a waterlogged middle section of the Ewood Park playing surface.
As a result, Rovers have now been afforded over a fortnight to recover from a successful trip to South Wales on November 9, when a brilliant brace from Austria international Andreas Weimann, as well as a strike from Lewis Baker, secured a 3-1 victory at the home of Cardiff City.
Following their maiden away win of the campaign last time out at the seventh attempt, Blackburn are currently occupying ninth position in the Championship table ahead of a daunting trip to Teesside this week, four points behind West Brom in the lowest of the playoff spots.
After the loss of last season’s second-tier Golden Boot winner Sammie Szmodics to Premier League Ipswich Town over the summer, there was a real push for Rovers to replace the attacking talents of the Irishman, with the gifted Todd Cantwell arriving from Scottish giants Rangers.
A less high-profile acquisition, Yuki Ohashi looked set to fill the Szmodics-shaped hole in Blackburn’s forward line after scoring four league goals at the beginning of the term, but the Japan international is currently enduring a 10-game spell without finding the net in the Championship.
Middlesbrough Championship form:
Blackburn Rovers Championship form:
Team News
© Imago
Middlesbrough remain without the services of Alex Bangura and Darragh Lenihan, meaning that Carrick’s options at the back are limited ahead of a busy festive schedule.
England Under-21 international Hayden Hackney has been ruled out until December due to a muscular injury, so Dan Barlaser is likely to partner Jonny Howson once again in the engine room.
Despite failing to find the net in the battering of Oxford, Ben Doak is earning rave reviews on Teesside and as part of Scotland’s senior side, with the winger likely to retain his spot in the XI on Wednesday.
Enjoying a productive debut term in England last season, Blackburn’s Arnor Sigurdsson has played just five times in the Championship so far this time around due to a thigh strain.
Rovers are unable to call upon the talents of Hayden Carter because of a knee injury, meaning that Danny Batth and Dominic Hyam should continue as the centre-back pairing for the visitors to the Riverside.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Brynn; Ayling, Edmundson, Clarke, Borges; Howson, Barlaser; Doak, Azaz, Burgzorg; Latte Lath
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Brittain, Hyam, Batth, Pickering; Tronstad, Travis; Weimann, Cantwell, Hedges; Ohashi
We say: Middlesbrough 3-1 Blackburn Rovers
Just days after the 6-2 success at Oxford, Middlesbrough should be extremely confident of earning another three points at home to Blackburn.
Rovers should be raring to go following their fixture postponement on the weekend, although we do not believe that the visitors’ freshness will lead to a positive result on Teesside.
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