Nathan Jones’ team were exceptional in the 3-0 victory against Preston North End on Saturday and will look to carry that form into the match at the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough mirrored Town’s fantastic scoreline versus Millwall and likewise will look to continue on an upwards trajectory ahead of a busy Christmas period.
Nathan Jones said:
(Please note, these quotes are taken from Nathan’s press conference on Monday. You can watch the full version by clicking here)
On Neil Warnock: “Neil’s a perennial Championship promotion chaser. A manager who knows how to get results, a manger who’s had a fantastic career, a manager who’s stood the test of time at varied clubs and created (good) environments.
“You know you’re in for a real tough game when you come up against a Neil Warnock side. We know that and we have to be prepared for that.
“It’s unfortunate last year, in terms of him (Jonathan Woodgate) losing his job, but it happens in football and they’ve tuned to someone who’s used to being at the right end of tables.
“It looks like a very good decision and we know what we’ll come up against when we come up against a Neil Warnock side.
“It’s a tough game. It’s always a tough game when you go away to the north-east and even more so now. They’ve had a great start, they’re a front-footed side and we know we’ll need to be at our best to get something against a top side.”
On Boro’s threat: “It’s the Championship. You have no idea what’s going to happen from game to game, it’s so difficult. Preston had a poor home record, beat Middlesbrough, then with the best away record, we happened to beat them.
“It’s only early in the season, so it’s not like we’re 35/36 games into season, so it’s just one of those things.
“It will be a difficult game, whatever their record, wherever they are. Even if they were going through a terrible time at home, it would be such a difficult game, so that fact that they’ve got a good home record, just makes it harder.
“We’re in good form ourselves. We believe we should have a greater haul and some of those would’ve been away performances, so it will be a very interesting game and we look forward to the challenge.”
Who?
Middlesbrough have enjoyed the majority of their trophy success in the last 25 years, having first been runners-up in the FA Cup in 1997, before winning the League Cup in 2004 after beating Bolton Wanderers.
Boro gained promotion into the Premier League in 2016 with a second place finish, but were relegated the following season, with this being their four successive campaign in the Championship.
The Manager – Neil Warnock
As manager Nathan Jones said himself, Neil Warnock is a ‘perennial Championship promotion chaser’ and is well-known for his years in the game.
He has achieved promotion with several clubs throughout his career and following a three year spell with Cardiff City which ended in 2019, he is now looking to push Middlesbrough higher up the table, with one eye certainly on the promotion dream.
Main Threat – Duncan Watmore
Duncan Watmore only joined the club in November following his release from Sunderland in the summer. Middlesbrough took a punt on the 26-year-old and he has since delivered a fantastic return of four goals and an assist in six matches.
When and where?
Kick-off is 7pm at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday 16 December.
Man in the middle?
The referee for tomorrow’s fixture is Andy Davies – who last took charge of the Hatters in the 3-2 victory against Derby County in February last season.
He has officiated 12 games this campaign, dishing out 38 yellows and four red cards.
Played before?
The two sides last met prior to lockdown in February and Town were 1-0 victors at the Riverside Stadium thanks to a Ryan Tunnicliffe goal.
Follow the action
Season ticket holders will be able to watch the match live on iFollow Hatters as this is a weekday away match.
If you are not a season ticket holder you can follow tonight’s match by purchasing a £10 match pass.
