Hoping to continue their last-gasp push towards the top-six positions, Middlesbrough will welcome Swansea City to the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Championship.
Boro were able to keep their playoff dreams alive with a victory over Sheffield Wednesday on Easter Monday, whilst the Swans suffered defeat at home to Queens Park Rangers on the same afternoon.
Match preview
Having won just one of seven Championship matches up until the beginning of March, Middlesbrough are beginning to find some form at a crucial stage in the campaign, extending their unbeaten run to six matches with a 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Monday afternoon.
During a first half in which Boro dominated possession and created the lion's share of clear-cut chances, it was Wednesday defender Michael Ihiekwe who provided the vital touch to put the hosts ahead, before winger Isaiah Jones doubled his side's advantage in the second period to secure maximum points for the fourth time in the last six contests.
Having failed to adapt to life without the likes of Chuba Akpom and Morgan Rodgers during the opening months of the second-tier campaign, Michael Carrick's side are now making a late assault towards the playoff spots, with Middlesbrough currently occupying ninth position, six points behind David Wagner's Norwich City in sixth.
After firing in 46 goals during 23 Championship homes matches in the 2022-23 campaign, Boro have struggled to find the net on Teesside this season, scoring just 22 in 20 contests in front of their own supporters, winning only eight of those and collecting a modest tally of 28 points, leaving them 15th in the home rankings.
Key to Middlesbrough's resurgence in recent matches has been the goalkeeping heroics of Seny Dieng, who has managed to keep four clean sheets in the last five matches, with the Senegal international reportedly attracting interest from Premier League duo Newcastle United and Crystal Palace, as well as Ipswich Town of the Championship.
Relatively safe from relegation and far behind the excitement of the top-six race, Swansea's season is beginning to stall following just a single win in their last five matches, with the Welsh outfit losing narrowly to relegation-threatened QPR on Monday afternoon.
Looking to make it three-straight victories at the Swansea.com Stadium last time out, Luke Williams's troops were undone by a second-half effort from centre-back Steve Cook, who netted his second goal of the Easter weekend to secure maximum points for Marti Cifuentes's men in their bid for second-tier safety.
Apart from the South Wales derby success over arch rivals Cardiff City, the Swans have not won over the past month and are firmly marooned in mid-table, sitting seven points ahead of 22nd-placed Huddersfield Town and 17 points behind sixth-placed Norwich.
Replacing Michael Duff in the managerial hotseat at the beginning of the calendar year, former Notts County man Williams has endured a mixed start to life as head coach in South Wales, winning just five of his 15 matches across all competitions, losing seven of those and drawing on three occasions.
Swansea's recent record on Teesside is extremely poor heading into Saturday afternoon's encounter - the Welsh club have lost three-straight games at the Riverside Stadium, last winning at Middlesbrough in June 2020, when a Rhian Brewster brace helped the visitors to a 3-0 success over Jonathan Woodgate's Boro.
Team News
Middlesbrough have been severely impacted by a large number of injuries throughout the campaign, with the likes of Riley McGree and Alex Bangura suffering multiple fitness issues.
England Under-21 international Hayden Hackney suffered a knee injury in February and is not expected back until the final matches of the season, meaning that Lewis O'Brien should continue in the engine room alongside Daniel Barlaser.
Josh Coburn has been sidelined for nearly two months due to a groin issue, leaving Emmanuel Latte Lath to shoulder the goalscoring burden as the central striker.
Impressing on the left since his January switch from East Anglia, Norwich loanee Przemyslaw Placheta is currently out of action for Swansea because of a hamstring injury.
Harrison Ashby is another wide man who has struggled for fitness in South Wales, with the West Ham United youngster suffering a muscle injury at the start of February.
Starting the defeat to QPR on Easter Monday, Joe Allen sustained a toe issue and was forced off after just 35 minutes - the Wales international is not expected back until the end of the month.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Ayling, Howson, Clarke, Thomas; Barlaser, O'Brien, Jones, Azaz, Greenwood; Lath
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; Key, Darling, Wood, Tymon; Grimes, Fulton, Pereira, Paterson, Cullen; Yates
We say: Middlesbrough 1-0 Swansea City
Middlesbrough have found their rhythm in recent matches and should be confident of easing past Swansea at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Swans' season is petering out massively, so we are envisaging a poor performance and defeat for the visitors on Teesside during this Championship clash.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
