Middlesbrough host Stoke City at Riverside Stadium in a huge Sky Bet Championship clash.
Victory would see third-placed Middlesbrough reduce their deficit to second-placed Sheffield United down to a single point, with the Blades not in action until Wednesday evening.
Stoke meanwhile can go 13th with a win.
Team News
Dael Fry could return in defence for Boro after illness ruled out him out of Saturday’s comeback win at Swansea.
Isaiah Jones could also feature after he was left out for tactical reasons by manager – Michael Carrick.
Matt Clarke (back) remains absent.
Stoke could welcome at least one of Phil Jagielka or Ben Wilmot back into defence, after the pair missed their win over Blackburn with knocks.
Matija Sarkic, Emre Tezgel (both quad) and Nick Powell (knee) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Middlesbrough host Stoke at Riverside Stadium on Tuesday 14 March in a 8pm GMT kick-off, live on Sky Sports in UK.
Stat Attack
- Middlesbrough have lost just one of their last nine meetings against Stoke (W5, D3, L1).
- Stoke have failed to win in six visits to Middlesbrough this century (D1, L5).
- Both teams haven’t scored in three consecutive meetings since a four-match streak between September 1993 – April 1995.
- Middlesbrough have lost just one match at home in all competitions since Michael Carrick took charge in late October 2022 (W7, D1, L1).
- Seven of Tyrese Campbell’s eight goals for Stoke this season have been scored after half-time.
Prediction
Having been frustrated in a tricky first half at Swansea on Saturday, Middlesbrough did incredibly well to respond after half-time with a more intense yet clinical attack, which saw them come from behind to claim a crucial win as Sheffield Utd slipped up but they need to maximise that luck here.
Stoke meanwhile have finally hit upon some consistency in recent weeks and seem to play their best football when they quickly get on the front foot, which proved clinically crucial against an unstable Blackburn defence despite sloppily conceding two late goals once 3-0 up.
Boro away though has been Stoke’s Achilles heel this century and with the hosts unbeaten at home in the league since Carrick took charge, I do feel like Stoke will need a slice of luck to get a result so a strong start is imperative otherwise Boro will probably edge this battle.
Prediction: Middlesbrough 2-1 Stoke
Discussion about this post