r00fie1
Well-known member
Its that time again.....
Today`s Fixtures [Saturday 30th October]
The Championship Table after the 1-1 draw between QPR and Forest [Friday 29th October 2021].
Match summary:
[Courtesy of Flashscore.co.uk - https://www.flashscore.co.uk/match/YDpCiCQp/#match-summary ]
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Blues View:
The trip to Teesside is the team's fifth and final outing of October and comes after a full week of preparation at the Club's Wast Hills Training Ground. This follows a fully-deserved win against Swansea City at St. Andrew's last weekend that built upon a battling point picked up at Huddersfield Town the Wednesday before.
Such results give Blues vital momentum heading to the Riverside - a venue at which they were victorious in January of this year - ahead of consecutive home fixtures against Bristol City ('kids for a quid') and Reading in B9.
Middlesbrough themselves go into the game on a hot streak of form. They have won three games on the spin, with each of these ending two-nil in favour of Boro, but would need to beat Blues for the first time in TS3 since August 2018 to extend this run to four matches.
Overall history is also against the hosts, with Blues having been successful nine more times in the fixture's history, including winning six of the first nine meetings when they were known as Small Heath.
THE OPPOSITION:
Middlesbrough head into the next round of Championship fixtures occupying the league's final play-off place, with 21 points from their 14 matches to date. This is the same return as each team from fifth down to ninth as the division continues to be fiercely contested across the board.
Boro have won half a dozen of their 14 games so far but are the lowest scorers in the top six, currently coming in as the 13th highest on such a metric. This explains why no man in red has found the net more than three times in all competitions.
Leading the scoring charts are Matt Crooks, a summer arrival from Rotherham United, and Slovenian Andraz Sporar - each also recording a single assist. The latter signed on loan from Sporting CP in August, with the move to Teesside meaning he has now played professionally in six different countries at the age of 27. These include his homeland, Switzerland, Germany, Slovakia and Portugal.
At the other end, goalkeeper Joe Lumley has the joint-third most clean sheets in the second tier, whilst nobody has won more defensive duels (76%) than Sol Bamba. The centre-back, who made a full recovery from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma this year, reunited with Neil Warnock two months ago when signing for Middlesbrough after previously being managed by the Yorkshireman at Cardiff City.
LAST TIME OUT:
A spirited Blues overcame Swansea in the Second City to land their first win of October. A slow burn of a game was well and truly brought to life just two minutes into the second-half as Troy Deeney put the hosts ahead from Tahith Chong's centre. This seemed set to be the winner until Michael Obafemi's leveller inside the final quarter of an hour. But driven by the biggest home crowd of the campaign to date, Blues found another gear and substitute Riley McGree persisted to stick home the winner.
Middlesbrough also claimed three points against South Wales opposition as they won their fourth game in five with a comfortable success over Cardiff City. Andraz Sporar opened the scoring with a composed penalty after Mark McGuinness was penalised for handball ten minutes before the break. The Bluebirds did hit the crossbar through Aden Flint after the interval, but Boro wrapped matters up through Martin Payero 17 minutes from time.
WE MEET AGAIN:
Middlesbrough 0 Blues 1, 16 January 2021
Blues picked up their first maximum of the new year in front of the Sky Sports cameras at the Riverside. A textbook away performance saw the away team take a deserved lead and then show the defensive resilience to limit Middlesbrough to half-chances. Scott Hogan was the matchwinner thanks to his close-range finish in the 26th-minute which came on the end of a stylish team move where Ivan Sanchez' flick laid on the assist from Maxime Colin.
BLUES TEAM NEWS:
Maxime Colin remains sidelined, whilst Ivan Sunjic has not trained so far this week.
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Blues wins: 46
Draws: 36
Middlesbrough wins: 37
LAST FIVE MEETINGS:
Championship 16 Jan 2021: Middlesbrough 0-1 Blues
Championship 19 Dec 2020: Blues 1-4 Middlesbrough
Championship 21 Jan 2020: Middlesbrough 1-1 Blues
Championship 04 Oct 2019: Blues 2-1 Middlesbrough
Championship 12 Jan 2019: Blues 1-2 Middlesbrough
Not too many weeks ago, us Boro fans were trudging back from a miserable match at Hull: wet, cold and wazzed off. It seemed like we ciuldnt hit a cows arz with a banjo and had the consistency of a Pukka Pie. Some thought 5,000,000 GBP`s Peyero would have more splinters in his arz than a carpenters forefinger. Something happened - despite all the talk of a "crisis" - those players who were available stood up to the plate and proved you dont have to be paid a fortune to perform at your best.
The Gaffa`s hands have been tied - which has proven an advantage.
Some of the lads might not have had their chance - so hopefully, returning players will find it difficult to get back into the team.
Why change a winning team?
The Gaffa`s hands have been tied - which has proven an advantage.
Some of the lads might not have had their chance - so hopefully, returning players will find it difficult to get back into the team.
Why change a winning team?
Who would have believed we could score six goals in the last three games - keep three clean sheets and be sitting on the edge of the play-offs!
Nah!
Not Boro - not our Small Town in Europe.
So here goes for a fourth win in a row [honest!]
Nah!
Not Boro - not our Small Town in Europe.
So here goes for a fourth win in a row [honest!]
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Today`s Fixtures [Saturday 30th October]
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A draw for Luton at Preston, and a much needed win at home for Hull against Coventry, could see Boro up to fourth [4th!] in the Championship.
I must have that wrong?
I must have that wrong?
The Championship Table after the 1-1 draw between QPR and Forest [Friday 29th October 2021].
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Match summary:
[Courtesy of Flashscore.co.uk - https://www.flashscore.co.uk/match/YDpCiCQp/#match-summary ]
It may be Halloween week, but there’s been nothing spooky about Middlesbrough’s form, with the Teessiders ghosting their way to three consecutive 2-0 victories ahead of this clash. Those have seen manager Neil Warnock equal a personal-best run of straight wins in his 72 games at the club to date, and propelled his charges into the top six.
There are no skeletons in the cupboard as far as Warnock-managed sides facing Birmingham are concerned, as his teams have scored a considerable 11 goals across the last four meetings (W3, L1). Another strong showing is expected here from a Boro side that have won ‘to nil’ in four of their last five games, including three straight home league games.
Though goalless in four straight away league games, Birmingham recently put some of their demons to rest, by ending a seven-game winless run in the Championship last time out. As such, Birmingham travel north seeking their first back-to-back league wins of the season.
A win would also see the ‘Blues’ complete their first set of consecutive league wins over Middlesbrough since a run of three back in 2013. However, you must go all the way back to pre-war days (1933-35) to find the last time that Birmingham won consecutive away league games on Teesside!
Key battle: Middlesbrough have recorded four clean sheets from veteran centre-half Sol Bamba’s six league starts so far, following his man of the match performance last time out. Facing him will be forward Troy Deeney, who ended Birmingham’s run of six games without a goal last time out. He has scored six goals in his 12 career H2Hs with Middlesbrough.
Hot streak: No side in the entire EFL is on a longer run of league games featuring under 2.5 total goals than Middlesbrough’s six.
There are no skeletons in the cupboard as far as Warnock-managed sides facing Birmingham are concerned, as his teams have scored a considerable 11 goals across the last four meetings (W3, L1). Another strong showing is expected here from a Boro side that have won ‘to nil’ in four of their last five games, including three straight home league games.
Though goalless in four straight away league games, Birmingham recently put some of their demons to rest, by ending a seven-game winless run in the Championship last time out. As such, Birmingham travel north seeking their first back-to-back league wins of the season.
A win would also see the ‘Blues’ complete their first set of consecutive league wins over Middlesbrough since a run of three back in 2013. However, you must go all the way back to pre-war days (1933-35) to find the last time that Birmingham won consecutive away league games on Teesside!
Key battle: Middlesbrough have recorded four clean sheets from veteran centre-half Sol Bamba’s six league starts so far, following his man of the match performance last time out. Facing him will be forward Troy Deeney, who ended Birmingham’s run of six games without a goal last time out. He has scored six goals in his 12 career H2Hs with Middlesbrough.
Hot streak: No side in the entire EFL is on a longer run of league games featuring under 2.5 total goals than Middlesbrough’s six.
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Blues View:
Preview: Middlesbrough v Blues
Blues visit Middlesbrough in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday afternoon.
www.bcfc.com
Blues visit Middlesbrough in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The trip to Teesside is the team's fifth and final outing of October and comes after a full week of preparation at the Club's Wast Hills Training Ground. This follows a fully-deserved win against Swansea City at St. Andrew's last weekend that built upon a battling point picked up at Huddersfield Town the Wednesday before.
Such results give Blues vital momentum heading to the Riverside - a venue at which they were victorious in January of this year - ahead of consecutive home fixtures against Bristol City ('kids for a quid') and Reading in B9.
Middlesbrough themselves go into the game on a hot streak of form. They have won three games on the spin, with each of these ending two-nil in favour of Boro, but would need to beat Blues for the first time in TS3 since August 2018 to extend this run to four matches.
Overall history is also against the hosts, with Blues having been successful nine more times in the fixture's history, including winning six of the first nine meetings when they were known as Small Heath.
THE OPPOSITION:
Middlesbrough head into the next round of Championship fixtures occupying the league's final play-off place, with 21 points from their 14 matches to date. This is the same return as each team from fifth down to ninth as the division continues to be fiercely contested across the board.
Boro have won half a dozen of their 14 games so far but are the lowest scorers in the top six, currently coming in as the 13th highest on such a metric. This explains why no man in red has found the net more than three times in all competitions.
Leading the scoring charts are Matt Crooks, a summer arrival from Rotherham United, and Slovenian Andraz Sporar - each also recording a single assist. The latter signed on loan from Sporting CP in August, with the move to Teesside meaning he has now played professionally in six different countries at the age of 27. These include his homeland, Switzerland, Germany, Slovakia and Portugal.
At the other end, goalkeeper Joe Lumley has the joint-third most clean sheets in the second tier, whilst nobody has won more defensive duels (76%) than Sol Bamba. The centre-back, who made a full recovery from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma this year, reunited with Neil Warnock two months ago when signing for Middlesbrough after previously being managed by the Yorkshireman at Cardiff City.
LAST TIME OUT:
A spirited Blues overcame Swansea in the Second City to land their first win of October. A slow burn of a game was well and truly brought to life just two minutes into the second-half as Troy Deeney put the hosts ahead from Tahith Chong's centre. This seemed set to be the winner until Michael Obafemi's leveller inside the final quarter of an hour. But driven by the biggest home crowd of the campaign to date, Blues found another gear and substitute Riley McGree persisted to stick home the winner.
Middlesbrough also claimed three points against South Wales opposition as they won their fourth game in five with a comfortable success over Cardiff City. Andraz Sporar opened the scoring with a composed penalty after Mark McGuinness was penalised for handball ten minutes before the break. The Bluebirds did hit the crossbar through Aden Flint after the interval, but Boro wrapped matters up through Martin Payero 17 minutes from time.
WE MEET AGAIN:
Middlesbrough 0 Blues 1, 16 January 2021
Blues picked up their first maximum of the new year in front of the Sky Sports cameras at the Riverside. A textbook away performance saw the away team take a deserved lead and then show the defensive resilience to limit Middlesbrough to half-chances. Scott Hogan was the matchwinner thanks to his close-range finish in the 26th-minute which came on the end of a stylish team move where Ivan Sanchez' flick laid on the assist from Maxime Colin.
BLUES TEAM NEWS:
Maxime Colin remains sidelined, whilst Ivan Sunjic has not trained so far this week.
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Blues wins: 46
Draws: 36
Middlesbrough wins: 37
LAST FIVE MEETINGS:
Championship 16 Jan 2021: Middlesbrough 0-1 Blues
Championship 19 Dec 2020: Blues 1-4 Middlesbrough
Championship 21 Jan 2020: Middlesbrough 1-1 Blues
Championship 04 Oct 2019: Blues 2-1 Middlesbrough
Championship 12 Jan 2019: Blues 1-2 Middlesbrough
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