Life without Chris Wilder begins for Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday night as the managerless Championship strugglers host Birmingham City.
Wilder was sacked by the club on Monday with Boro sitting in the relegation zone, three points behind a Birmingham side who will be looking to continue their recent uptick in form in this game.
Match preview
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Middlesbrough have started the season in disappointing fashion, picking up just 10 points from their opening 11 games and occupying a place in the relegation zone on goal difference.
A 1-0 win against rivals Sunderland in September looked like it was exactly what Boro needed to spur them on to move up the table, but since then form has dipped, with two defeats in their last three games and failing to score in the latest two of those.
Things hit a particularly low ebb in their last match when Boro allowed the Championship's bottom club Coventry City to gain some ground after falling to a 1-0 defeat at the Coventry Building Society Arena, a first win of the season for the Sky Blues and a second loss in three games for The Teessiders.
In light of the result, Boro terminated the contract of manager Chris Wilder with immediate effect, marking the end of an 11-month period in charge, with the club's hierarchy selecting Leo Percovich as his replacement on an interim basis.
Despite their recent performances, a positive to take into Wednesday's game is the record at the Riverside Stadium, with Boro undefeated at home so far this season, winning twice and drawing on three occasions, providing some much-needed confidence that they can put their poor form behind them and begin to move up the table.
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Birmingham had also been languishing near the bottom of the table until recently, when an unbeaten run of four games saw them move up to 15th place, three points clear of the relegation zone.
The Blues saw their run begin with consecutive away wins at Preston North End and a struggling West Bromwich Albion, before drawing with Coventry City and most recently getting what can be considered a very good point away at league leaders Sheffield United courtesy of Troy Deeney's first goal of the season.
If they are to continue their rise up the table however, John Eustace's men will need to start finding the back of the net more often, only having nine league goals to their name so far this season, with only three other Championship clubs having a worse goal return.
Five of these nine league goals have been scored by striker Scott Hogan, who particularly impressed when netting a hat-trick away at local rivals West Bromwich Albion, and the striker also enjoys playing against Middlesbrough, with goals on his last two trips to Teesside.
With their opponents currently without a permanent manager going into Wednesday's game, The Blues will be hoping to add to what has been steady away form so far this season, and they will be playing at what has been a happy hunting ground for them in recent times, winning their last two games at the Riverside Stadium.
Team News
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In light of their recent woes in front of goal, Middlesbrough will be boosted by Chuba Akpom's return to full fitness, the striker getting some minutes under his belt against Coventry and thought to be on the cusp of returning to the starting 11.
There is no such luck for Darragh Lenihan however, with the defender still not available due to an ankle injury sustained in Boro's defeat to Watford and expected to be back later this month.
Boro have opted for a three-at-the-back system this season, alternating between having two strikers and having an attacking midfielder in behind a lone forward, with their most recent win against Sunderland coming when Muniz Carvalho played off Riley McGree, so interim manager Percovich may well revert back to this system.
Matt Crooks has shown some promising signs this season, getting himself two goals and two assists from central midfield, and he is set to start alongside Jonny Howson, while in defence Dael Fry is poised to start having done so in Middlesbrough's last four outings.
Birmingham have some absentees of their own, with Nico Gordon and Harlee Dean still missing with leg injuries, but expected to be back in a couple of weeks' time.
After Troy Deeney got off the mark this season against Sheffield United, he is set to start next to top scorer Scott Hogan in attack, a formidable front two for the Boro defence to try and deal with.
The Blues have played 3-5-2 for the majority of the season, with the relatively settled central midfield trio of Tahith Chong, Krystian Bielik and Juninho Bacuna playing well against Sheffield United and all likely to keep their places.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Steffen; McNair, Fry, Dijksteel; Bola, Mowatt, Howson, Crooks, Smith, McGree; Munizo
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Graham, Colin, Sanderson, Trusty, Longelo; Chong, Bielik, Bacuna; Deeney, Hogan
We say: Middlesbrough 1-1 Birmingham City
Middlesbrough have not started the season how they would have liked, but to their credit they have a decent home record and have notched decent home wins against Sunderland and Swansea.
However, despite the possibility of a new manager bounce, after recent form we do not think they will have enough to win the game, particularly with Birmingham being on a decent run.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
