Middlesbrough face fellow-Championship side Preston North End in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, and Tony Pulis is expected to make plenty of changes for the tie.
Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis said in his post-match interview with BBC Tees that the side that faces Preston on Tuesday will be ‘completely different’ to the one that faced Swansea on Saturday afternoon. Rudy Gestede and Ashley Fletcher were also two names mentioned by the Welshman, with both expected to feature in the cup tie.
In previous rounds, Pulis has made ten or eleven changes to the previous Championship starting team, and it should be no different this time around, regardless of the opposition.
The manager has expressed that players not getting game time in the league should be playing in the cup competitions, and with not much rotation in the Championship for Boro so far, there are plenty of players who will be chomping at the bit to get out on the pitch and play.
Youngsters such as Harry Chapman, Djed Spence, Nathan Wood and Stephen Walker have been given chances in the Carabao Cup competition so far this season, with all four players featuring in previous rounds – all of whom impressed.
Another player Middlesbrough fans will want to see feature is 18-year old winger Bilal Brahimi, who excited supporters in his cameo appearance from the bench in the previous round against League One side Rochdale. He may have made enough of an impression to be given a starting berth this time around.
