Middlesbrough will take on Heerenveen at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday in their final pre-season match in preparation for the upcoming 2024-25 season.
The hosts have won three, drawn one and lost one of their five friendlies so far, while the visitors have won all four of their pre-season fixtures.
Match preview
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After finishing just five points outside of the playoff places in 2021-22, Middlesbrough were aiming to go one step further and finish inside the top six in the subsequent campaign, but a poor start saw Boro sit 20th in the league by matchday 18.
Michael Carrick was appointed as manager at that point, and the former Manchester United midfielder worked wonders to lead the side rapidly up the table, eventually finishing in fourth place.
Unfortunately for Carrick, his side lost 1-0 on aggregate in the playoff semi-final, before enduring a poor start to the following season, going winless in their opening eight matches and finding themselves in the relegation zone.
Middlesbrough kept faith in the manager, once again guiding them up the table to narrowly miss out on the playoff places by just four points by the end of the campaign, leaving Boro determined to pursue promotion in the upcoming season.
Heading into their eighth consecutive campaign in the Championship, Middlesbrough will be hoping they can go all the way this year and secure promotion back into the top flight.
Carrick's side have given a fair account of themselves in their pre-season so far, losing their opening friendly against Vitoria SC before beating Bolton Wanderers, Gateshead and Doncaster Rovers, and most recently drawing 0-0 with Harrogate Town.
Heerenveen will be Middlesbrough's final friendly game before they take on Swansea in their Championship opener next weekend, and Carrick will want to continue their positive pre-season form into the new season.
The Dutch side are sure to provide a difficult challenge though, having won all four of their pre-season fixtures as they gear up for their 32nd consecutive season in the Eredivisie.
Kees van Wonderen left the managerial position at the end of 2023-24 after two years in the job due to a disagreement with the management about the future of the club, with Robin van Persie landing his first job in senior management with the club ahead of the new term.
Van Persie's side have performed brilliantly in their four friendlies to date, convincingly beating FC Dordrecht, PEC Zwolle and Rayo Vallecano while also narrowly defeating Almere City FC 1-0.
The former Manchester United striker will be hoping his side can maintain their strong form with a win against Middlesbrough to take into the new campaign, in which Heerenveen seek to return to the European playoff places after missing out last year.
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Team News
Carrick played a rotated side in their last friendly against Harrogate to share the minutes around the squad, but Middlesbrough are expected to field a strong team in their final pre-season fixture.
Emmanuel Latte Lath, who enjoyed a fruitful first campaign in English football with 16 goals and one assist in 30 Championship appearances, has continued his form into pre-season with two goals, and the striker is expected to start here.
Finn Azaz impressed after joining Middlesbrough from Plymouth Argyle in January, finishing the league season with 11 goals and 10 assists, and is expected to play just behind Lath in this match.
Last season's top scorer, Pelle van Amersfoort, left Heerenveen for Al-Shahaniya at the end of the campaign, but Daniel Karlsbakk, who has excelled in pre-season with six goals in four games, is likely to replace him.
Osame Sahraoui was a key player last term, scoring eight and assisting four in the league, and the midfielder has continued his form into pre-season with two goals.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Ayling, Van den Berg, Clarke, Engel; McGree, Hackney; Jones, Azaz, Burgzorg; Lath
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Van der Hart; Braude, Kersten, Bochniewicz, Kohlert; Conde, Olsson, Brouwers; Al-Saed, Karlsbakk, Sahraoui
We say: Middlesbrough 2-2 Heerenveen
Both teams have performed well in their pre-season fixtures, scoring plenty of goals, and they appear evenly matched heading into this one, suggesting it could end in a draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
