Middlesbrough will play out, potentially at least, their final Championship fixture of 2024/25 on Saturday.
Middlesbrough are predicted to lose against Coventry City by Opta’s supercomputer, which would be a disastrous end to their season.
Boro kick off on Saturday ninth in the Championship and defeat will mean it’ll be their lowest finish since Michael Carrick took charge.
The Teessiders finished fourth and seventh in his first two campaigns at the helm, but could drop down to 10th with defeat today.
The Sky Blues, like Boro, are not in great form right now, losing to Luton Town last time out, but one Sky Sports pundit still thinks Middlesbrough will lose 2-1.
Middlesbrough duo must start vs Coventry
Middlesbrough’s record against Coventry is nothing short of woeful and will not fill fans with confidence going into the match.
The Teessiders have never won a single fixture when playing at the Coventry Building Society Arena, a record stretching back to 2006.
In more recent times, the Reds have conceded three goals in their previous three meetings with Frank Lampard’s team.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for Middlesbrough to get anything out of this game, but if they are to do so, Riley McGree and Rav van den Berg need to start.
McGree improves Boro every time he plays and his constant injury problems is one of the reasons Carrick’s side have struggled so much this term.
And while Jonny Howson has done a decent job filling in at centre-back, Rav van den Berg and Dael Fry should be the partnership today.
Riley McGree and Rav van den Berg injury updates
Both players missed the 0-0 draw with Norwich last time out but Carrick has given positive updates on them in his pre-Coventry press conference.
He said: “Riley and Rav have both trained with us a little bit this week.
“They’ve been back in and around the group so that’s a real positive.
“We’ve got Riley back training after seeing the specialist and he looks good. He looks fine. So, we’re hopeful [we’ve got to the bottom of his problems]. It’s obviously the end of the season now, but to have him back with the group is good for us.”
Neto Borges is also back in training after a problem saw him left on the bench versus Norwich.
Carrick continued: “Neto has trained with the boys this week as well, a little bit. There’s an element of keeping everything fresh and getting that balance right, but he has been back in and around it, so it’s good to have him back.”
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