Middlesbrough get their pre-season schedule underway with a friendly at non-league Bishop Auckland on Saturday afternoon.
The Championship outfit are looking to start with a victory on the back of missing out on promotion to the Premier League in 2021-22.
Match preview
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Having posted 16 wins from his opening 33 matches in charge of Boro, Chris Wilder has enjoyed a respectable start to life at the Riverside Stadium.
However, having moved Boro into contention for the playoffs last season, failing to build on that platform came as a huge blow, and the rebuilding work has already gotten underway.
A number of fresh faces have arrived at the club, including the notable addition of Blackburn Rovers defender Darragh Lenihan on a free transfer.
Boro also beat a number of rivals to the signing of Wolverhampton Wanderers wide player Ryan Giles, while it is all change between the sticks.
United States international Zack Steffen is on the brink of signing on a season-long loan from Manchester City, with Liam Roberts being brought in from Northampton Town as one of his deputies.
The presence of senior members such as Sol Bamba, Neil Taylor and Lee Peltier will be missed, but it provides Wilder with greater freedom to make further changes over the next two months.
Middlesbrough are no strangers to opening pre-season at the home of Bishop Auckland with a 3-0 success being posted ahead of the last campaign.
Bishop Auckland only narrowly avoided relegation from Northern League Division One in the spring, finishing in 18th position with just 35 points from 38 games.
Team News
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With this game representing the first of just five matches, Wilder will likely look to hand all of his available players minutes at some point.
Paddy McNair was involved in Northern Ireland's UEFA Nations League fixtures until the middle of June and will not be considered for this contest.
Djed Spence does not feature in Wilder's plans as he waits for developments on a switch to a Premier League, but Lenihan should get some game time despite signing as recently as last Friday.
Bishop Auckland started pre-season training several days ahead of Middlesbrough and manager Chris Hardy could opt to select what he views as his strongest team.
Louis Johnson and Dale Elgie, who signed on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, are expected to be named among the replacements.
We say: Bishop Auckland 0-4 Middlesbrough
With a training camp and bigger tests to come, this fixture is more about fitness than anything else. Nevertheless, Wilder will still want to see a positive start to the summer, and we expect Boro to run out comfortable victors in the North East.
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Darren Plant
