Middlesbrough welcome Barnsley to the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday evening, looking to record back-to-back victories in the Championship for the first time this season.

Meanwhile, the Tykes travel to the North-East on the back of four successive defeats, leaving Markus Schopp under increasing pressure in the dugout.

Match preview

Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock on September 11, 2021 © Reuters

Down to the bare bones as far as his defensive options are concerned, Neil Warnock would have been slightly pessimistic about his side's chances against an improving Peterborough United last weekend.

However, not only did his team run out 2-0 victors at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough managed to keep a third clean sheet in six games.

With both goals coming during the closing stages, Warnock is aware that it was almost a case of more dropped points at their home ground.

Nevertheless, Boro are now back up to 12th position ahead of a fixture against opponents who are completely out of form, the best-case scenario given Boro's long-standing inconsistency.

Eighteen-year-old Josh Coburn netted his second league goal at the weekend, another sign that the academy graduate could emerge as an important member of this squad in the future.

Barnsley manager Markus Schopp on August 28, 2021 © Reuters

Barnsley boss Schopp may feel that he is close to losing his job at Oakwell with the Tykes having put together a 10-match winless streak in the Championship.

While five draws have been collected this season, no goals from open play in five games suggests that life under the Austrian is simply not working.

The Barnsley hierarchy have a solid record when it comes to appointing managers from abroad, something that they will take into consideration when assessing the current situation.

However, with their next five fixtures on the favourable side, the upcoming period will ultimately make or break whether Schopp remains in his position for the foreseeable future.

Middlesbrough Championship form:

Barnsley Championship form:

Team News

Barnsley's Cauley Woodrow celebrates scoring their first goal on September 15, 2021 © Reuters

While Warnock is still having to contend with a number of injury issues, Lee Peltier has served his ban and should return to the Middlesbrough backline.

That would allow Jonny Howson to feature in midfield, restoring a bit of balance to a team which featured an array of attack-minded players on Saturday.

Duncan Watmore or Uche Ikpeazu are most likely to make way, leaving Matt Crooks to be used as the most advanced of a three-man midfield.

William Hondermarck will hope to make his first Barnsley start of the season after three substitute appearances.

The 20-year-old could be preferred to Claudio Gomes, while Clarke Oduor and Dominik Frieser will both hope to be selected behind Cauley Woodrow.

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Peltier, Bamba, McNair; Tavernier, Howson, Payero, Hernandez; Crooks; Ikpeazu, Sporar

Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Collins; Sibbick, Helik, Moon; Brittain, Palmer, Hondermarck, Williams; Frieser, Odour; Woodrow

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We say: Middlesbrough 1-1 Barnsley

While Boro are the clear favourites to win this contest, they still need to show that they can deliver consistent results. With that in mind, we are backing the visitors to earn a share of the spoils in a scrappy match at the Riverside Stadium.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Middlesbrough win with a probability of 42.78%. A win for Barnsley had a probability of 29.48% and a draw had a probability of 27.7%.

The most likely scoreline for a Middlesbrough win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.5%) and 2-0 (8.21%). The likeliest Barnsley win was 0-1 (9.95%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 8.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Middlesbrough would win this match.