Middlesbrough's push for a playoff spot in the Championship will continue on Saturday afternoon, when they welcome Norwich City to the Riverside Stadium.
Boro are currently seventh in the Championship table, three points behind sixth-placed Coventry City with two games left, while Norwich sit down in 14th, with the Canaries having little to play for in the final stages of the season.
Match preview
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Middlesbrough only just missed out on the playoffs last season, ending the season in eighth, four points off sixth-placed Norwich, so it would be very tough to take if the team again just finished shy of the top six.
Michael Carrick's side currently occupy seventh spot in the table, three points behind sixth-placed Coventry, so there is work for them to do over the next two gameweeks, but a position in the playoffs is certainly achievable.
A disappointing run has come at the worst possible time, with Boro beaten in three of their last four in the Championship, including a damaging 2-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
Middlesbrough did beat Plymouth Argyle in their last game at the Riverside Stadium on April 18, though, and the fact that their final game of the season is against Coventry makes this an incredibly important affair.
Indeed, Carrick's team have a superior goal difference over Coventry, so wins in their final two league matches of the season would see them finish inside the top six, with next weekend's clash against Frank Lampard's side shaping up to be a blockbuster affair.
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Norwich will be looking to cause upset at the Riverside Stadium this weekend in what will be Jack Wilshere's first match in charge, having replaced the sacked Johannes Hoff Thorup for the team's final two league games of the campaign.
Wilshere will be assisted by Tony Roberts and Nick Stanley on Saturday, and he will be bidding to lead the Canaries to their first victory since the end of March, with the team's last three Championship matches all ending in defeat.
A record of 13 wins, 14 draws and 17 defeats has left Norwich in 14th spot in the Championship table on 53 points, some 13 points off the playoff positions, while they are seven points outside of the relegation zone.
Finding the back of the net has not been a problem for Norwich this term, scoring 67 times, which is a record only bettered by leaders Leeds United (89), but they have been defensively poor, conceding 66 times.
The Canaries have only won four of their 22 Championship games on their travels this season, and they will be taking on a Boro outfit that boast 38 points from their 22 home league fixtures during the 2024-25 campaign.
Team News
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Middlesbrough will again be without the services of a number of first-team players on Saturday, with Harley Hunt, Solomon Bryan, Riley McGree, Neto Borges, Luke Ayling, Alex Bangura, Ben Doak and Seny Dieng on the sidelines through injury.
Head coach Carrick could name an unchanged side despite the disappointing nature of the result against Wednesday last time out, including a spot through the middle for Tommy Conway, who has scored 13 times this season.
Finn Azaz has 12 goals and 11 assists in 44 appearances this tern, meanwhile, and there will once again be a position in the final third of the field for the 24-year-old.
As for Norwich, Matej Jurasek, Ante Crnac, Lucien Mahovo, Anthony Springett, Gabriel Forsyth, Lewis Dobbin and Benjamin Chrisene are on the sidelines due to injury problems.
Interim head coach Wilshere is expected to make changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Millwall, including spots in the final third of the field for Liam Gibbs and Anis Ben Slimane.
However, Borja Sainz, who has 17 goals in the Championship this season, is set to feature, while there will also be a position in the XI for Josh Sargent, with the 25-year-old on 15 goals in the Championship in 2024-25.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Travers; Dijksteel, Howson, Van den Berg, Iling-Junior; Morris, Hackney; Forss, Whittaker, Azaz; Conway
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Reyes; Stacey, Duffy, Cordoba, McLean; Nunez, Wright; Ben Slimane, Gibbs, Sainz; Sargent
We say: Middlesbrough 2-1 Norwich City
Norwich have the attacking power to really hurt Middlesbrough, with Sainz and Sargent scoring 32 times between them in the Championship this term, but we are backing Boro to get the result that they require to keep their promotion hopes alive.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
