Middlesbrough travel to Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon in Chris Wilder’s first away game as Boro boss.
Middlesbrough are yet to get up and running under Wilder, with a draw and a loss in his first two games in charge. They drew 1-1 with Millwall, which was followed up by a 2-1 defeat to Preston North End.
The performances have been positive from Middlesbrough though and Wilder will be looking to turn positive performances into three points when they take on Huddersfield this weekend.
There have been plenty of injuries for Wilder to contend with but Boro will be able to welcome back two previously injured players against the Terriers.
Here is how we expect Middlesbrough to line up:
GK – Luke Daniels
RWB – Onel Hernandez
CB – Paddy McNair
CB – Sol Bamba
CB – Dael Fry
LWB – Marc Bola
CM – Jonny Howson
CM – Matt Crooks
CM – Martin Payero
ST – Duncan Watmore
ST – Andraz Sporar
Both Dael Fry and Martin Payero are set to return after injury lay-offs and the duo could come straight back into the starting eleven to freshen things up.
Despite Lee Peltier putting in a solid performance against Preston he could be the one to drop out for Fry, although Bamba could be rested instead.
In midfield it is hard to leave out Matt Crooks, who has been one of the standout performers for the Teessiders this season, whilst Howson offers experience in the middle of the park. Therefore, we expect to see Marcus Tavernier drop to the bench in place of Payero. However, Tavernier could play as a right wing-back in place of Onel Hernandez.
Hernandez came on as a second-half sub against Preston and was creative and impressive again, Isaiah Jones would likely be the one to be replaced if he was to start.
