Middlesbrough play host to Swansea City on Saturday afternoon with Chris Wilder having collected his first win against Huddersfield Town last time out.
Boro now sit in 12th position in the Championship standings, one point adrift of the ninth-placed visitors to the Riverside Stadium.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having started his Middlesbrough reign with one point from two winnable home fixtures, Wilder went into the trip to Huddersfield Town knowing that his new side desperately needed a win.
However, Duncan Watmore's early double ensured that Boro enjoyed a relatively comfortable 90 minutes, the goal that they conceded coming in added-on time.
Collecting three points has made a difference of five positions, and the North-East outfit will realistically find themselves back in the top 10 if they can win again at the weekend.
Although six matches have now passed without Boro recording a clean sheet, Wilder will feel that there are better things to come now that he has got his first victory on the board.
While Boro have netted in their last five matches, they still require someone to contribute regularly in the final third, Matt Crooks the only player to score more than three times in the league this season.
© Reuters
Heading into their home fixture with Reading last weekend, Swansea boss Russell Martin would have felt that his side were on the brink of challenging for a playoff spot.
A shock 3-2 defeat against the Royals is a major spanner in the works, the Welsh side now six points adrift of sixth spot and having won just once in four matches.
Swansea had been on a run of four successive home wins before the double-header with Blackpool and Reading, leaving Martin will the task of trying to keep his team in the promotion picture.
With their only clean sheet in five outings coming away at struggling Barnsley, Martin must try to restore the balance from earlier in the season, even if it takes something away from their greater return in front of goal.
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Paddy McNair's one-game ban will force an already-depleted Boro into a reshuffle, with either Marc Bola or Jonny Howson likely to drop into the back three.
Given Howson's importance in midfield, Bola could make the move, with Onel Hernandez getting the nod in his place at left wing-back.
With Lee Peltier having recently been ruled out for a month, the rest of the Middlesbrough side could stay the same.
Any changes made by Martin are likely to revolve around the backline with Joel Latibeaudiere in line to be given a recall.
Rhys Williams failed to impress on his return to the team and could drop out, while Flynn Downes may feature in midfield.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Daniels; Djiksteel, Bamba, Bola; Jones, Crooks, Howson, Tavernier, Hernandez; Watmore, Sporar
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Latibeaudiere, Naughton, Bennett; Laird, Grimes, Downes, Manning; Ntcham, Paterson; Piroe
We say: Middlesbrough 1-1 Swansea City
Given the inconsistency of the teams above them, both sides know the importance of collecting three points on Saturday. Nevertheless, with neither of these clubs particularly free-scoring, an uneventful draw appears to be the most likely outcome.
Top tip
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 40.28%. A win for Swansea City had a probability of 32.35% and a draw had a probability of 27.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Middlesbrough win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.44%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.39%) and 2-0 (7.41%). The likeliest Swansea City win was 0-1 (9.99%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.94%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 11.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Middlesbrough in this match.
