Championship club Middlesbrough square off against League One outfit Bolton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly at The Vest Construction Stadium, home of Bishop Auckland, on Saturday afternoon.
This friendly encounter represents just the second of pre-season for both clubs as they continue their preparations for the 2024-25 campaign.
Match preview
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Middlesbrough have only recently returned to home soil after spending a week in Portugal for a warm-weather training camp in the Algarve, which was rounded off with a behind-closed-doors training match against Vitoria de Guimaraes last Saturday.
However, Michael Carrick's men were beaten by their Primeira Liga counterparts by a 2-0 scoreline, with Vitoria's new signing Jesus Ramirez scoring both goals within the final 15 minutes of the closely-contested friendly.
Boro have since resumed training at Rockliffe as they gear up for four more friendlies in the UK, following up this weekend's clash against Bolton with warm-up matches versus Gateshead, Doncaster Rovers, Harrogate Town and Heerenveen over the next fortnight.
Carrick's side are bidding to make a fast start to the 2024-25 campaign, which will represent their eighth in succession as a Championship club after settling for an eighth-placed finish last season, finishing just four points behind the top six.
Securing at least a playoff spot and securing promotion will be the aim for Middlesbrough, and the same can be said for Bolton Wanderers who narrowly missed out on escaping the third tier last season, losing 2-0 in the playoff final to Oxford United at Wembley.
The Trotters were also put through their paces during a week-long warm weather training camp in Portugal earlier this month, before they returned to England to face second-tier side West Bromwich Albion at St George's Park last Saturday for their opening pre-season match.
Ian Evatt was pleased to see his side make a winning start to their pre-season programme and come away from a "really challenging test" on top, with goals late in each half from Kyle Dempsey and Aaron Collins helping Bolton come from behind to beat West Brom by a 2-1 scoreline.
Before they kick off the new League One season against Leyton Orient on August 10, Bolton will endeavour to put together a strong run of form across their remaining five pre-season friendlies, with Saturday's clash against Middlesbrough to be followed by encounters with Chorley, Fiorentina, Stoke City and Port Vale.
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Team News
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Middlesbrough's injured trio Darragh Lenihan, Tommy Smith and Marcus Forss were all present with the squad in Portugal as they worked on their individual rehabilitation programmes and have since resumed their respective sessions back in the UK.
Midfielder Riley McGree put pen to paper on a contract extension earlier this week and the Australian, who along with Tom Glover, Dael Fry and Hayden Hackney ended last season in the treatment room, is set to get some minutes under his belt on Saturday, as they all did versus Vitoria last time out.
As for Bolton, Gethin Jones and Chris Forino, the latter a new signing from Wycombe Wanderers, have recently been added to the club's injury list and are unlikely to feature this weekend.
The Trotters' friendly win over West Brom came too soon for new recruit Scott Arfield, but the 35-year-old versatile midfielder is in contention to feature against Middlesbrough along with the likes of Aaron Collins, Josh Sheehan, Eoin Toal and Nathan Baxter.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Ayling, Clarke, Van den Berg, Bangura; Howson, Hackney; Jones, McGree, Azaz; Latte Lath
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Baxter, Matheson, Toal, Santos, Dacres-Cogley, Thomason, Sheehan, Dempsey, Lolos, Adeboyejo, Collins
We say: Middlesbrough 2-2 Bolton Wanderers
It is difficult to predict which team will come out on top in this friendly fixture as much will depend on the quality on display from both teams. A competitive contest should be on display nevertheless, one that could see the spoils shared.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
