Both keen to bounce back from weekend defeats, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United will square off at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday.
The visitors dropped to fourth spot in the Championship table having seen their unbeaten start to the season put to an end by Leeds United on Friday, while their hosts sit ninth following a disappointing home loss to Bristol City.
Match preview
Middlesbrough return to action at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday aiming to move back within touching distance of the Championship's playoff places, following another setback in their first game after the international break on Saturday.
Aiming to build on last year's eighth-placed finish and mount a promotion bid, Michael Carrick's side enjoyed a relatively pleasing start to their campaign, moving onto 14 points from their first eight outings with impressive back-to-back victories over Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion, having kept clean sheets on both occasions.
Indeed, that start was inspired by a tight defensive record, having only conceded five goals in those first eight fixtures, but Boro were unable to make it three wins on the bounce heading into the season's second break, visiting Watford and suffering a 2-1 defeat despite heading into the final 15 minutes with a lead thanks to George Edmundson's goal.
On their return at the weekend, Carrick's men hosted Bristol City and again came away empty-handed, as Anis Mehmeti and Yu Hirakawa fired the visitors to a 2-0 victory with first-half goals.
Now sitting ninth in England's second tier with a four-point gap up to the top six, Middlesbrough will be keen to put their consecutive defeats behind them and bounce back to winning ways on home turf on Wednesday before facing a tough trip to seventh-placed Norwich City at the weekend.
Their visitors will also aim to get back to winning ways when they travel north on Wednesday, having tasted defeat in the Championship for the first time this season at the weekend.
Looking to win an immediate promotion back to the Premier League this term under the management of Chris Wilder, Sheffield United enjoyed an impressive start to their league campaign, overcoming a two-point deduction to sit second heading into the October international break with the division's only unbeaten record still intact after nine matches.
Like their hosts, that was largely thanks to the Blades' strong defensive record, with no other Championship side having conceded as few as their three goals at that stage, including six straight clean sheets heading into the break, culminating in 1-0 and 2-0 home wins over Swansea City and Luton Town respectively.
Returning to action with six wins and three draws on the board, Wilder's men faced a tough trip to Yorkshire rivals Leeds United on Friday and were unable to extend their unbeaten start, instead succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at Elland Road as Pascal Struijk put the hosts ahead 21 minutes from time and Mateo Joseph put the game out of sight in injury time.
Having dropped to fourth spot as a result of that defeat, trailing Leeds on goal difference, Burnley by two points and leaders Sunderland by three, Sheffield United will look to bounce back on Wednesday and rejoin the leading pack.
Team News
Middlesbrough will remain without Tommy Smith, Darragh Lenihan and Lukas Engel on Wednesday due to injury issues, and while Dael Fry and Jonny Howson are nearing returns from their own layoffs, they are unlikely to be deemed fit to feature in time.
Tommy Conway returned to the bench for the Bristol City contest, and he could come back in from the outset in support of Emmanuel Latte Lath, who has only managed one Championship goal so far this season after hitting 16 last time around.
Ben Doak and Finn Azaz should complete the attacking unit, while Aidan Morris should again get the nod over Daniel Barlaser and Riley McGree to join key man Hayden Hackney in the centre of their 4-2-3-1 setup.
Sheffield United will head to the Riverside Stadium without midfielder Vinicius Souza, who will serve a one-match suspension after picking up a fifth yellow card of the season in their defeat to Leeds, while Tom Davies remains confined to the treatment room.
Given those absences, Sydie Peck should come in to join Oliver Arblaster in the midfield, with Chris Wilder expected to switch back to a 4-2-3-1 shape similar to that of their hosts.
Alfie Gilchrist will likely return to reform a back four alongside Anel Ahmedhodzic, Harry Souttar and Harrison Burrows, while Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who scored both goals in their 2-0 win over Luton Town before the break, should rejoin Callum O'Hare and Gustavo Hamer in support of either Kieffer Moore or Rhian Brewster up front.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Ayling, Edmundson, Clarke, Borges; Morris, Hackney; Azaz, Conway, Doak; Latte Lath
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Gilchrist, Ahmedhodzic, Souttar, Burrows; Arblaster, Peck; Rak-Sakyi, O'Hare, Hamer; Moore
We say: Middlesbrough 1-0 Sheffield United
Left wounded by a first defeat of the season last time out, and yet to truly click in attack, Sheffield United face another stern test on Wednesday and could fall short against a Middlesbrough side with more quality than their recent results suggest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
