Gateshead and Middlesbrough continue their pre-season preparations with a friendly in the North-East on Wednesday evening.
Both teams head into this contest in good form, particularly the home side who have already defeated Championship opposition this summer.
Match preview
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On the back of the disappointment of missing out on the 2023-24 Championship playoffs, Michael Carrick knows that he is under pressure to deliver at Middlesbrough this season.
The summer schedule did not start as planned, with a 2-0 defeat being suffered against Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes on July 13.
However, Boro would finish strongly to register a 3-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in a game that was played at the home of Bishop Auckland.
With four games still to come, Boro have plenty of work ahead before returning to action in the second tier, with an encounter against Dutch outfit Heerenveen on August 3 the highlight.
Carrick can be left pleased with the club's transfer business thus far, with the additions of former loanee Luke Ayling, Aiden Morris and Delano Burgzorg all bringing extra quality to the squad.
From Gateshead's perspective, they are still getting over the frustration at being prevented from featuring in the National League playoffs due to issues off the pitch.
On it, though, it has been the perfect return so far, with wins being posted over Hebburn Town, Sunderland, North Shields and Blyth Spartans across an 11-day period.
The success over Sunderland is the obvious standout, the Championship outfit having fielded a side on that occasion that would have looked at home in the second tier.
Rob Elliot will now hope that his players can deliver against similar opposition, albeit with Boro having far more miles in their legs than Sunderland had on July 13.
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Team News
Both managers are at the stage of the summer where they will be prepared to mix-and-match their respective sides.
From Carrick's perspective, Burgzorg could come into the team having scored as a substitute versus Bolton, albeit from the spot, while the likes of Jonny Howson, Hayden Hackney and Emmanuel Latte Lath may also start having only been given 30 minutes in that game.
Meanwhile, Gateshead participated in two matches in the space of 24 hours on Thursday and Friday, leaving Elliot needing to decide how to combine the two squads.
In the demolition of Blyth Spartans, Owen Oseni scored twice, adding to the double from the Sunderland game, and the former Derby County youngster is showing signs of being one of the top signings of the summer at National League level.
We say: Gateshead 1-4 Middlesbrough
Although Gateshead are full of confidence ahead of this fixture, we have to take into consideration that the stronger teams are improving in fitness. With that in mind, we are backing the visitors to come through this contest in style.
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