Sunderland Not The Only Opposition For Downing
Friday, 09 January 09, 09:45 AM · Comments(1)
Good afternoon Peeps and Boro fans,
So another big game for Middlesbrough tomorrow afternoon at the Riverside.
We can expect a little tension amongst the Boro fans tomorrow as Stewart Downing is expected to start against Sunderland. Surely this will be a good thing for the team though against our rivals. It can go two ways. Downing starts the game well and the fans quieten down or Downing starts sloppy and the fans get on his back. The game should be interesting, one thing is sure.
Team news ahead of the game
Gareth Southgate is only missing a couple of players for tomorrows clash at the Riverside. Justin Hoyte is still out with an injury and Gary O'Neil is still unavailable because of a hamstring injury, although that might be wide of the mark considering he is the subject of a possible move back to Portsmouth.
Julio Arca is back from injury and Mo Shawky has recovered well from an illness. I'm not sure whether either will feature in the game as their fitness levels will not quite be up to level.
I'll do Southgate's job for him now and pick the side. My Middlesbrough XI to face Sunderland:
Turnbull
Bates Wheater Huth Pogatetz
Digard
Johnson Emnes
Downing
Tuncay Alves
My team selection may look a bit lightweight in midfield, but Southgate has not got any options other than to attack tomorrow. We need three points. Time to be bold and rely on your youngsters for a change.
Just think about the prospect of all that pace when we go forward. We have already seen what Emnes can do with the ball at his feet and also he doesn't shy from big challenges and can certainly give a few out himself.
Afonso Alves will be champing at the bit to play tomorrow after netting a brace last week in the cup. I really do hope he can increase his goal tally.
Turnbull will return to the team following his rest week and will be looking to continue his excellent form between the sticks. Hopefully the four lads in front of him will cover the big lad in goal for the whole game.
Prediction time
It's hard predicting on the outcome of Boro games these days. Will they or won't they turn up? It's a lottery.
If they can defend well and sneak a couple of goals preferably from Alves, but I don't mind as long as we win, we can beat this lot from up the road.
Work rate and taking our chances = Middlesbrough 2 Sunderland 0
Star Man - Didier Digard
Enjoy the game and up the Boro!
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james laville said:well i am a hardcore boro fan and i wouldnt want boro to go gdown but if we do ...
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BigBoro
Middlesbrough, GB
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1 Comments · Add yours
Well, if we can play well, I guess we can notch up a 2-1 or 2-0 win here. On the midfield, I think GS might take the risk straight and field Arca. Bates did well in the Man Utd match plus Hoyte is still injured. So very likely he'll play again. As for the left, not too sure if which Stewy will turn up. GS can field Jonno in this position, but I think he will take the risk to field Stewy. Up front, it should be Alves and Tuncay. The former has a good game vs Barrow and the latter is defintely raring to go after having ample rest. On the right, well guess GS will stick with Aliadiere despite how highly we all might rate Emnes' potential and ability. Back for me is a no prob. Both fullbacks we all know who will take the spots. Central should be Wheats and possibly Riggot ahead of Huth. Not too sure on that. Possible that GS might field Wheats on the right again and either Huth or Riggot alongside Poggy. Left might be Andrew Taylor if he's able to play. All in all a crucial match for us. Nothing less than 3 points will do for us. We really need to get off the relegation dogfight asap.