Middlesbrough will continue their preparations for the 2023-24 Championship season with a friendly against Spanish outfit Real Betis in Chesterfield on Saturday afternoon.
Boro will enter the contest off the back of a 2-0 victory over Rotherham United, while Real Betis suffered a 3-1 loss to Monaco in their second friendly of the summer.
Match preview
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Michael Carrick has performed an excellent job at Middlesbrough since being appointed head coach last October, finishing last season with a record of 18 wins, five draws and 10 defeats from 33 matches.
Boro ended the campaign in fourth position, which saw them qualify for the playoffs, but they were beaten by Coventry City in the semi-finals and will therefore once again play in the Championship next term.
Middlesbrough have now been absent from the Premier League since 2017 but will be expecting to challenge for the top six again in 2023-24, and there have been a number of new additions this summer, including Tom Glover, Morgan Rogers, Seny Dieng and Rav van den Berg.
Boro have already played four friendlies this summer, opening their preparations for the new season with a 1-0 victory over Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes on July 8.
Carrick's side then lost 2-1 to Hartlepool United before drawing with York City, while they will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 victory over Rotherham on Wednesday.
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Real Betis, meanwhile, have played twice already this summer, suffering 3-1 defeats to Eintracht Braunschweig and Monaco, and they have another four games in the diary.
The Seville-based outfit will take on Burnley, Sevilla and Real Sociedad in their three friendlies after this one before opening their 2023-24 La Liga campaign away to Villarreal on August 13.
Real Betis, who recently announced that head coach Manuel Pellegrini had signed a contract extension, finished sixth in La Liga last season, which has qualified them for the group stage of the 2023-24 Europa League.
Pellegrini's side have had three signings this summer, bringing in Hector Bellerin and Ayoze Perez on free transfers, while Marc Roca has arrived on loan from Leeds United.
There have also been a number of outgoings, including Edgar Gonzalez, Victor Ruiz and Joaquin, so there will be a fresh look to the Spanish outfit's squad for next season.
Team News
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Carrick will make changes to the side that started the win over Rotherham, with the Boro boss building the fitness of his players at a key stage of pre-season.
Marcus Forss and Matthew Hoppe both came off the bench in the second half of the team's last match, but the pair could now come into the starting side here.
Sam Silvera might be given another chance to impress from the first whistle, while Martin Payero should also retain his spot in the first XI for the Championship outfit.
Real Betis, meanwhile, are expected to have the same squad available from the clash with Monaco, but there are likely to be changes to the first XI.
Martin Montoya appeared off the bench in the team's last game and could now start, while Ayoze Perez is also expected to be introduced into the side.
Borja Iglesias was given the nod from the first whistle against Monaco, with Willian Jose featuring off the bench and that is likely to again be the case on Saturday afternoon.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Smith, Barlaser, Van den Berg, Bilongo; Payero, Hackney, Crooks; Silvera, Forss, Hoppe
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Ruibal, Felipe, Montoya, Abner; Roca, Carvalho; Perez, Roca, Juanmi; Iglesias
We say: Middlesbrough 1-1 Real Betis
Both teams will be expecting a competitive match on Saturday afternoon, and we are expecting it to be a tight affair. Middlesbrough are slightly ahead in terms of their preparations for the new season, but Real Betis are a quality outfit, and we are backing the points to be shared here.
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Matt Law
