Both looking to strengthen their bids for a top-six finish, Middlesbrough and Coventry City will clash at the Riverside Stadium in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.
Boro managed a point from a six-goal thriller at Norwich City last time out, whilst the Sky Blues secured a much-needed victory over Luton Town.
Match preview
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After back-to-back defeats to Watford and Bristol City earlier in the month, Middlesbrough concluded their October schedule with four points from two Championship matches, beating title contenders Sheffield United on October 23 before collecting a point at Norwich last weekend.
Matching the goalscoring antics of the division's leading marksman Borja Sainz, Boro's summer arrival Tommy Conway bagged a brilliant brace on Sunday afternoon in East Anglia, where an 80th-minute own goal from Seny Dieng prevented the North-East side from escaping with maximum points.
Ending the October matches on a positive note, Middlesbrough have moved up to ninth in the Championship table as the harsh winter months approach, five points behind second-placed Burnley and just the single point back from Blackburn Rovers in the lowest of the playoff spots.
Michael Carrick's troops will be confident of recording a result this weekend considering that they have lost just one of their opening six second-tier matches at the Riverside this season, with Liam Manning's Bristol City the only side to defeat the hosts at their Teesside base.
Although former Robins star Conway has stolen the early headlines with his goalscoring habits, Republic of Ireland international Finn Azaz also deserves plenty of praise, with the 24-year-old playmaker providing four goal contributions across 12 Championship appearances so far.
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After earning just the single point from a trio of fixtures against Sheffield Wednesday, Preston North End and relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers, Coventry City managed a much-needed maximum last Saturday, beating recently-relegated Luton at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
The Hatters raced into a two-goal lead within the first 40 minutes courtesy of efforts from Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo, but the Sky Blues fought back valiantly in the second period to clinch three points, with American hero Haji Wright saving the day in the 92nd minute.
Also on the scoresheet against Rob Edwards's men, Ellis Simms doubled his goal tally to two after 12 matches, with the 23-year-old desperate to rediscover the form that allowed him to bag 19 goals across all competitions during 2023-24, including six strikes during his side's run to the FA Cup semi-finals.
Despite their last-gasp winner at the end of October, Mark Robins's troops still have plenty to do in order to be considered as genuine promotion contenders this season, with Saturday's visitors to the Riverside currently occupying 18th in the Championship standings, seven points behind the playoffs.
The Sky Blues will be looking to extend their winning run against Middlesbrough to four matches on the weekend, with the first of that spell arriving at the Riverside in May 2023, when Gustavo Hamer's goal booked Coventry's spot in the playoff final at Wembley.
Team News
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Middlesbrough remain without the services of left-back Alex Bangura, who is expected back from an Achilles tendon injury in late November.
Boro's options at the back are further reduced by the absence of Dael Fry, with the central defender failing to feature so far this season because of a leg issue.
Lukas Engel (abdominal) and Tommy Smith (Achilles) are also backline casualties, meaning that Anfernee Dijksteel and Neto Borges are relatively assured of their spots in the Middlesbrough XI.
Coventry also have fitness issues at full-back, with former Swansea City defender Jake Bidwell out until the end of November due to a knee injury.
Providing goal contributions off the bench versus Luton, Jack Rudoni and Victor Torp have both made strong claims to start at the Riverside this weekend.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Dijksteel, Van den Berg, Edmundson, Borges; Morris, Hackney; Doak, Azaz, McGree; Conway
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Dovin; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Binks, Dasilva; Sheaf, Torp, Rudoni; Sakamoto, Simms, Wright
We say: Middlesbrough 2-1 Coventry City
Possessing home advantage, Middlesbrough will be confident of building on a point at Norwich with a Riverside success over Coventry this weekend.
The Sky Blues are winless from six Championship away matches so far this season, and we expect that statistic to extend to seven games on Teesside.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
